Fianna Fáil TD for Mayo, Dara Calleary, has said that Ireland’s insurance providers need to be fair in their treatment of business customers across Mayo who hold general infectious disease cover and who have been forced to close by the ongoing public health emergency.
Calleary stated: "Within a space of weeks, thousands of jobs have been lost in County Mayo in the tourism and hospitality sector. Our coastal geography along the Wild Atlantic Way, landscapes, and unique towns, proudly make Mayo a tourism hotspot.
"Visitors to our county are worth so much to our local economy but almost overnight this industry has been obliterated by the necessary public health measures taken to manage the outbreak of coronavirus.
"We all agree public health is paramount and I commend those local businesses who acted so quickly in shutting their doors for the safety of their staff and clients. It is imperative insurers in Ireland treat businesses fairly during this unprecedented event.
"Many of these businesses who have sought to make a claim for interruption of business arising from these restrictions have been shocked in recent days to find that their insurers will not be covering them, even where their cover includes business disruption arising from “infectious disease”.
"Business owners around the country acted in good faith to protect their employees and the general public, and it is galling to see many of them be refused cover for this incident.
"The Minister for Finance has stated that he believes businesses have a case “where there is a general infectious disease provision in a policy”, but he has yet to take steps to ameliorate this situation. I am calling on the Minister for Finance to bring insurers into the Department of Finance to resolve this crisis."
