Insurance broker representatives have rebutted a media report that suggests intermediaries discouraged SMEs from lodging coronavirus-related business interruption claims as the pandemic took hold.

Under the headline Brokers ‘delay COVID claims’, The Australian today quotes Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Josh Mennen as saying that brokers have been “actively discouraging customers from submitting claims”.

“It seems pretty clear that this behaviour is driven in part by an allegiance that brokers feel towards insurers,” he said.

But brokers hit back, saying that their allegiance is “first and foremost” to the client and insureds are always encouraged to lodge a claim if there is a chance of it being paid.

National Insurance Brokers Association (NIBA) CEO Dallas Booth told insuranceNEWS.com.au that the wide range of policy wordings and loss circumstances means “we cannot generalise”.

“NIBA guidance is that if there is any doubt then a claim should be submitted, and we are confident that is the position brokers have adopted,” he said.

“Whether a claim is paid is a matter for the insurer not the broker.”

However, he adds that it “may well be objectively clear” that a policy won’t respond.

In The Australian article Mr Mennen includes one example of a client who bought policies through Everest Risk Group, a corporate authorised representative of Insurance Advisernet.

“My client … asked their broker about making a claim during the early stages of the pandemic and [was] discouraged from doing so, initially on the basis that they were not covered and the claim would be denied.”

But Insurance Advisernet MD Shaun Standfield told insuranceNEWS.com.au the broker was simply passing on commentary about pandemic exclusions which was already in the public domain.

He says at the time, the policy coverage position “was more certain”, but that the position “has become less clear”, in reference to the upcoming business interruption test case to be heard in the NSW Court of Appeal on October 2.

Mr Standfield says a broker’s role is to always act fairly and in the best interests of clients.

“Insurance Advisernet brokers/advisers have lodged many COVID-19 related business interruption claims on behalf of clients,” he said.

insuranceNEWS.com.au asked Maurice Blackburn if it was investigating a potential class action in relation to business interruption insurance claims.

“Not that I’m aware of,” a spokeswoman said.