COVID-19

Supporting our customers and team members during COVID-19.

We’re closely monitoring the situation with the COVID-19 coronavirus to ensure we’re responding to the needs of our customers and team members as the situation evolves.

Health and safety are our top priority.

Within our operations, we’re taking precautions to keep our agents, and their team members, as well as the local community safe and well and to enable our insurance services to continue.

We are supporting our team members to comply with all Government advice and protocols, including implementing quarantine requirements for any Elders Insurance team members who have been in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, or who are experiencing flu-like symptoms.

We’re taking these actions so our business can continue processing our customers’ claims and offering insurance cover to those who need it. There may be some impact to service levels during this period, for example, some of our Elders Insurance offices may be closed to the public, however our team members are still available to assist via phone and email. Please call your local agent to find out more about the specific arrangements in place at your local Elders Insurance office.   

Update on the Business Interruption test case

The High Court recently decided to refuse special leave to appeal the judgment of the Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia on the interpretation of policy wordings in business interruption policies.

This means that the second test case process concerning COVID-19 related business interruption is finished and the principles set out in the judgment of the Full Court of the Federal Court will apply to the assessment of COVID-19 related claims under business interruption policies.

The Full Federal Court judgement found that in 4 of the 5 claims considered cover was not triggered as the link between an outbreak, government orders or business losses required by the policy wordings was not established. As such, insurers were not liable to indemnify policyholders. 

In the other case, the Full Court found that cover was triggered but that it could not be concluded that the policyholder loss was caused by the relevant outbreak of disease. The policyholder in this case is entitled to return to Federal Court.

A full copy of the Full Court judgment and a summary is available here.

We recognise this has been a difficult time for our small business customers and we thank them for their continued patience.

We’re committed to following the rulings of the Full Court and we’ve taken steps to ensure claims are assessed and finalised as quickly as possible.

Agencies can lodge a claim at any time on behalf of customers who hold Business Interruption cover and believe they have incurred COVID-19 related losses.

Claims health and safety

We want you to continue to feel secure at claim time so we’re making changes to how we manage your claim. We’ve taken actions to minimise risk for you and for our network of suppliers, including assessors, restorers, builders and repairers.

Our supplier network have now introduced screening questions before any customer visits and are following the latest health and safety advice. We’ve also started using live video assessments with a number of our suppliers in some instances.

Paying Australian suppliers faster

We value our suppliers and are committed to supporting them through these uncertain times. We will look to prioritise payments to our small and medium business suppliers and look at ways to reduce payment terms to no more than 15 business days. 

Helping our customers

We are working hard to find the most appropriate ways to respond to our customer’s needs and the health and safety of all. We recognise that many of our customers across Australia are in need of support at this challenging time.

We are here to help and support our customers. Please contact your local Elders Insurance agent to discuss your needs and for more information.

We appreciate your patience during this time.

Useful Resources

Tips and guidance while working from home

• Six productivity tips for remote working
• Five tips for better online meetings
• Employee guide to working from home

For updates on COVID-19 please visit:

• Australian Government, Department of Health 
• Australian Government, Department of Home Affairs 
• World Health Organisation