2. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 12:17 pm on 10 June 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 12:17, 10 June 2020

Llywydd, may I thank Jack Sargeant for that important point? He will not be surprised to learn that we've had a volume of correspondence on this matter from firms who believed that in good faith they had taken out insurance that would cover them in these circumstances, only to be told that now it doesn't, and we've been in correspondence as Ministers with the ABI—the Association of British Insurers—on this matter. Jack Sargeant will know that the regulator has decided to take a test case through the law courts to resolve this very specific point that he has raised. How could insurance policies have been designed to cover an eventuality that nobody had identified, and can that really be cited as an exemption that means the payments can't be made? It's a stand-off between the industry and those of us who believe that they should have acted otherwise, and it will now be for the law courts to resolve it.