Businesses in the Tongan capital of Nuku’alofa face a long road to recovery after the destructive riots that took place on November 16. Insurance in the tiny Pacific kingdom is written by only a few Australian insurers, and most policies in force will not compensate business owners.

About 80% of small businesses were burnt to the ground in the civil unrest, the cause of which has still not been determined. Although many were insured, strict exclusions against riot damage are expected to apply.

“You’ve got about 150 businesses burnt out,” Professor Ian Campbell of the University of the South Pacific told Sunrise Exchange News. “All of them have standard insurance with a standard exclusion for civil disorder.”

With more than $250 million in damage, many may be unable to re-open for trade.

The Government is offering some limited assistance. Soft loans are available and Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Paul Karulas says authorities are also considering concessions on consumption tax payments.

But businesses have not given up hope of an insurance payout. The riots were originally blamed on pro-democracy activists (Tonga is a constitutional monarchy), but affected businesses are now asking if something more conspiratorial was involved.

Chinese traders seem to have been singled out, as they were during riots in the Solomon Islands earlier this year. Michael Jones, the city’s largest employer through the EM Jones Group of Companies, says rival businesses were behind the violence.

“This was no riot at all,” he told the Matangi news service. “They were here on their own agenda.”

If that can be proved, claimants could find themselves covered after all.

Peter MacLeod, Chairman of the New Zealand division of the Australasian Institute of Chartered Loss Adjusters, is leading the investigation on behalf of insurers. He arrived in Tonga last weekend and has not indicated how long his research will take.