Case Law[2024] ZASCA 97South Africa
AIG South Africa Limited v 43 Air School Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others (640/2023) [2024] ZASCA 97; [2024] 3 All SA 319 (SCA); 2024 (6) SA 28 (SCA) (13 June 2024)
Supreme Court of Appeal of South Africa
13 June 2024
Headnotes
Summary: Insurance law – interpretation of insurance policy – policy providing cover for loss resulting from interruption of business due to notifiable disease occurring within 25 km of business premises of the insured – multiple insured – whether claimant insured – whether cover joint or composite – whether insurer had to be given notification of claim in terms of the contract – proof of the insured peril and causation.
Judgment
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# South Africa: Supreme Court of Appeal
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## AIG South Africa Limited v 43 Air School Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others (640/2023) [2024] ZASCA 97; [2024] 3 All SA 319 (SCA); 2024 (6) SA 28 (SCA) (13 June 2024)
AIG South Africa Limited v 43 Air School Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others (640/2023) [2024] ZASCA 97; [2024] 3 All SA 319 (SCA); 2024 (6) SA 28 (SCA) (13 June 2024)
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sino date 13 June 2024
FLYNOTES:
INSURANCE – Business interruption –
Covid-19
pandemic
–
Interpretation
of insurance policy – Liability under policy – Cover
is composite – Causal connection between
outbreak within 25
km radius and respondents’ loss – National response to
Covid-19 and outbreak within radius
of respondent’s business
premises sufficient to satisfy policy requirement –
Respondent proved that risk it was
insured against occurred and
has brought valid claims – Appellant liable for the first
and second claims.
THE SUPREME COURT OF
APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA
JUDGMENT
Reportable
Case
No: 640/2023
In the matter between:
AIG SOUTH AFRICA
LIMITED
APPELLANT
and
43 AIR SCHOOL HOLDINGS
(PTY) LTD
FIRST RESPONDENT
43 AIR SCHOOL (PTY)
LTD
SECOND RESPONDENT
PTC AVIATION (PTY) LTD
THIRD RESPONDENT
JET ORIENTATION CENTRE
(PTY) LTD
FOURTH RESPONDENT
Neutral
Citation:
AIG South Africa
Limited v 43 Air School Holdings (Pty) Ltd and Others
(640/2023)
[2024] ZASCA 97
(13 June 2024)
Coram:
DAMBUZA, MOKGOHLOA, and MATOJANE JJA and COPPIN
and TOLMAY AJJA
Heard:
9 May 2024
Delivered:
This judgment was
handed down electronically by circulation to the parties’
representatives by email, publication on the Supreme
Court of Appeal
website and release to SAFLII. The date and time for hand-down of the
judgment is deemed to be 11h00 on 13 June
2024.
Summary:
Insurance law –
interpretation of insurance policy – policy providing cover for
loss resulting from interruption of
business due to notifiable
disease occurring within 25 km of business premises of the insured –
multiple insured –
whether claimant insured – whether
cover joint or composite – whether insurer had to be given
notification of claim
in terms of the contract – proof of the
insured peril and causation.
ORDER
On
appeal from
:
Gauteng
Division of the High Court, Johannesburg (Mia J, sitting as court of
first instance):
1. The appeal in
respect of the order of the high court insofar as it relates to the
third claim of the second respondent
and in respect of the claims of
the third and fourth respondents succeeds.
2.
The appeal in respect of the first and second
claims of the second respondent is dismissed.
3.
The parties are to bear their own costs of the
appeal.
4.
The order of the high court is amended to read as
follows:
‘
1.
The respondent is liable to compensate the second applicant in
respect of its two claims for business interruption submitted,
respectively, on 19 May 2020 for the period 26 April 2020 to 30 April
2020, and on 9 June 2020 for the period 1 May 2020 to 31
May 2020.
2.
The respondent is directed to engage the second
applicant meaningfully for the purpose of quantifying the monetary
value of the
claims referred to in paragraph 1.
3.
The application is otherwise dismissed and each
party is to bear its own costs.’
JUDGMENT
Coppin
AJA (Dambuza, Mokgohloa and Matojane JJA and Tolmay AJA concurring):
Introduction
[1]
This appeal is about the liability of the appellant AIG South Africa
Limited
(AIG) to the respondents under a policy of insurance cover
(the policy) for alleged business interruption brought about by the
outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (Covid-19). The four respondents,
43 Air Holdings (Pty) Ltd (43 Air Holding), 43 Air School (Pty)
Ltd
(43 Air School), PTC Aviation (Pty) Ltd (PTC), and Jet Orientation
Centre (Pty) Ltd (JOC) refer to themselves as entities that
are ‘part
of the 43 Air school Group’.
[2]
On 1 July 2020 and 23 March 2021, AIG informed the second respondent
(43
Air School) of its repudiation of two claims which had been
submitted by 43 Air School to AIG in terms of the policy. These
claims
had been submitted by 43 Air School, respectively, on 19 May
2020 in respect of business interruption it alleged it experienced
for the period 26 April 2020 to 30 April 2020 and on 9 June 2020 for
business interruption it alleged it experienced for the period
1 May
2020 to 31 May 2020 (the first and second claims of 43 Air School).
In substantiation of those claims 43 Air School had alleged
that
AIG’s liability under the policy for the business interruption
had been triggered by the outbreak of Covid-19 within
25 km of its
business premises in Port Alfred in the Eastern Cape.
[3]
AIG alleged that 43 Air School in respect of its
first and second claims had not proved a causal connection between
the outbreak
of Covid -19 within a 25 km radius, as envisaged in the
policy, and its loss. In response to that repudiation by AIG, the
respondents,
including 43 Air School, brought an application in the
Gauteng Division of the High Court, Johannesburg (the high court) for
an
order: (a) declaring that AIG was liable to compensate 43 Air
School, the third respondent (PTC) and the fourth respondent (JOC),
respectively, for business interruption in terms of the policy, for
the period 27 March 2020 to 31 May 2020; (b) directing AIG
to engage
43 Air School, PTC and JOC ‘meaningfully for the purpose of
quantifying the monetary value’ of their respective
claims, ie
as detailed in the application, in respect of business interruption
for the period 27 March 2020 to 31 May 2020; and
(c) directing AIG to
pay the costs of the application.
[4]
In the application, 43 Air School not only sought
to hold AIG liable for its first and second claims, it also sought to
hold AIG
liable for a third claim. This claim relates to the period
after an outbreak of Covid-19 within 25 km of the business premises
of 43 Air School’s subsidiary, 43 Advanced, in Lanseria and
within 25 km of the business premises of PTC and JOC in Gqeberha
(43
Air School’s third claim). PTC and JOC sought to hold AIG
liable for their respective claims due to the outbreak of the
disease
within 25 kms of their business premises in Gqeberha.
[5]
The application was opposed by AIG and after
argument the high court granted an order in the terms sought by the
respondents. This
is an appeal with the leave of the high court
against the whole of its order in the application.
[6]
AIG denies liability for the first and second
claims of 43 Air School, contending that 43 Air School provided no
evidence that triggered
its liability under the policy. And, as an
adjunct to that defence, AIG alleges that the nature of those claims
had changed when
they were incorporated in the application, because
43 Air School now also seeks to hold AIG liable under the policy
based on the
outbreak of Covid-19 in Gqeberha and Lanseria. The
latter is based on its contention that the policy was a joint one in
respect
of 43 Air School, PTC and JOC. AIG denies that the policy was
joint and contends that it was composite. AIG further contends that
the third claim of 43 Air School is bad in law because it is clearly
based on the respondents’ erroneous contention that
the policy
is a joint one, and because 43 Air School did not comply with the
reporting clause in the policy in respect of the third
claim.
[7]
AIG’s defences to the claim of PTC are
essentially the following: (a) PTC is not an insured under the
policy; and (b) PTC
has not complied with the reporting clause in the
policy. The defence of AIG to JOC’s claim is merely confined to
the fact
that JOC did not comply with the reporting clause in the
policy.
[8]
Determining
AIG’s liability for the claims of necessity involves the
interpretation of the relevant clauses of the policy
in their proper
context. The same principles that apply to the interpretation of
contracts also apply to the interpretation of
insurance contracts and
they are trite. Recently those principles have been restated by this
Court in
Centrique
Insurance Company Ltd v Oosthuizen and Another
[1]
(Centrique)
as
follows:
‘…
Insurance
contracts are contracts like any other and must be construed by
having regard to the language, context and purpose in
what is a
unitary exercise. A commercially sensible meaning is to be adopted
instead of one that is insensible or at odds with
the purpose of the
contract. The analysis is objective and is aimed at establishing what
the parties must be taken to have intended,
having regard to the
words they used in the light of the document as a whole and of the
factual matrix within which they concluded
the contract.
But because insurance
contracts have a risk-transferring purpose containing particular
provisions…any provision that places
a limitation upon an
obligation to indemnify is usually restrictively interpreted, for it
is the insurer’s duty to spell
out clearly the specific risks
it wishes to exclude. In the event of real ambiguity the doctrine of
interpretation,
contra proferentem
, applies and the policy is
also generally construed against the insurer who frames the policy
and inserts the exclusion ….’(Footnotes
omitted.)
[9]
Regarding
the second part of the above quotation from
Centrique
- the
parties in this matter have specifically agreed in clause 21 of the
policy that ‘[t]he
contra
proferentem
rule
does not apply to the interpretation of this [p]olicy’.
Notwithstanding such an exclusion, the court, when interpreting
the
policy, is to opt for a commercially sensible, or businesslike
construction in the case of an ambiguity.
[2]
Background facts
[10]
The first respondent, 43 Air School Holdings (Pty) Ltd (Holdings),
holds hundred percent
of the shares in 43 Air School. The latter is
described by the respondents in their founding papers in the
application as the main
operating entity of the ‘43 Air School
Group’ which is said to consist of Holdings, 43 Air School, PTC
and JOC. The
place of business of, respectively, PTC and that of JOC
seems to be at the same address in Gqeberha (but there is no
indication
that they share facilities). Those premises are owned by
Green Gecko Trading (Pty) Ltd, an entity which has not been cited as
a
party in these proceedings, but which is wholly owned by Holdings.
Fifty percent of the shares in PTC, at the time of the application,
was held by Holdings and the balance was held by a trust which is not
cited in these proceedings. Previously, the 50% held by Holdings
vested in an entity, National Airways Corporation (Pty) Ltd (NAC),
which is also not cited in these proceedings. It is not stated
when
exactly Holdings acquired the shares in PTC from NAC. The respondents
aver that PTC and 43 Air School hold the shares in JOC
in equal
proportions.
[11]
It is not in issue that 43 Air School, at its premises in Port
Alfred, in addition to other
courses and training, provides basic
pilot and a traffic control training to candidates from the Port
Alfred aerodrome. The candidates
are from the private, general,
communal, airline and military sectors. PTC operates as an exclusive
pilot preparation service to
candidates from 43 Air School and
provides Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320 flight training for newly
qualified commercial pilots from
the Gqeberha premises. JOC owns and
provides flight simulators for lease at the Gqeberha premises. Some
of these simulators are
utilised by 43 Air School at its Lanseria
premises, where it operates as 43 Advanced, but the simulators are
used primarily by
PTC in Gqeberha for the training of pilots.
The
policy
[12]
For many years AIG was the insurer of the NAC and 43 Air School and,
in terms of the policy
wording, also the insurer of their respective
‘subsidiary companies, managed, controlled, member companies,
joint venture,
sports, social and recreational clubs and societies
and any other persons or entities for which they have the authority
to insure,
jointly or severally, each for their respective rights and
interests’. The policy was arranged through a broker, Marsh.
The
insurance was on an annual basis and the periods of insurance ran
from 1 July to 30 June of each respective year. The insurance
for the
year 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020 was renewed through Marsh but the
details of the insured as they appeared on policies
for the previous
years were not altered or amended. On 3 April 2020 Marsh confirmed in
writing to 43 Air School that the insured
were those entities as
described in the first sentence of this paragraph. It further
informed the insured, inter alia, that the
property insured was
‘assets – R275 499 804’, that the business
interruption cover was in the amount of
‘R66 443 230’
and that the insurance was in place for the period ‘1 July 2019
to 24:00 local Standard time
on 30 June 2020 at locations where the
Insured is situated.’
[13]
The policy itself indemnified the insured against all the risks
stipulated in the
policy. The general operative clause of the policy
states: ‘In consideration of payment of the premium by or on
behalf of
the Insured, the Insurer agrees to indemnify or compensate
the Insured by payment or, where applicable, at the option of the
Insurer,
by replacement, reinstatement or repair, in respect of
Defined Events provided for in terms of this Policy occurring (unless
otherwise
stated herein) during the Period of Insurance up to the
applicable Limits of Liability as stated herein.
Unless
otherwise stated herein, Specific Exclusions, Conditions and
provisions shall override General Exclusions, Conditions and
provisions. Any endorsement stated in the Specification shall
override the specific Policy section to which it relates.’
[14]
‘Business interruption’ cover, which is dealt with in
section C of the policy,
is provided for interruptions to the
business of the insured caused by a defined, or extended defined,
event that occurs during
the period of insurance. The basis of the
indemnity in respect of business interruption is stipulated to be
‘gross profit’
which, according to the policy ‘is
limited to (a) reduction in turnover; and (b) increase in [the] cost
of working, less
any sum saved during the indemnity’. Certain
of the terms in the definition of gross profit are defined in the
policy. The
term, ‘turnover’ is defined as ‘the
money paid or payable to the insured for goods sold and delivered and
for
services rendered in the cause of the business’. And
‘indemnity’ is defined as ‘the period beginning
with
the occurrence of the defined event and ending when the results
of the business cease to be affected in consequence of the defined
event but not exceeding the number of months stated in the
specification.’
[15]
The ‘extended defined event’ in terms of the policy
includes (amongst
others) the following which is relevant for present
purposes: ‘…[the] outbreak of infectious or Contagious
disease
within a radius of 25 km of the Premises’. In the same
clause in the policy the ‘disease’ referred to is defined
as follows: ‘“Infectious or Contagious Disease”
shall mean any human infectious or human contagious illness or
disease which a competent authority has stipulated shall be notified
to them or has caused a competent authority to declare a notifiable
medical condition to exist or impose quarantine regulations or
restrict access to any place.’ The term ‘premises’
is defined in the policy as ‘any premises used for the purpose
of the Business’, and the term ‘Business’
is
defined as ‘any activity of the Insured’.
[16]
The following is common cause: that the extended defined event
applies in respect
of Covid-19; that it was a notifiable disease;
that at the beginning of 2020 it became apparent that this
potentially fatal and
highly infectious disease was spreading and
affecting people worldwide; that on 11 March 2020 the World Health
Organisation (WHO)
declared Covid-19 a pandemic. It is also not in
issue that with effect from midnight of 26 March 2020 to midnight of
16 April 2020
South African citizens were placed under national
lockdown by the South African government, when the Minister of
Co-operative Governance
and Traditional Affairs issued regulations on
25 March 2020 under Government Notice R398, in terms of
s 27(2)
of
the
Disaster Management Act 57 of 2002
, to that effect. On 26 March
2020 Government Notice R419 was published in terms of which certain
of those regulations were amended.
Amended Regulation 11B(1)(b)
provided that:
‘
During
lockdown, all businesses and other entities shall cease operations
except for any business or entity involved in the manufacturing,
supply or provision of an essential good or service, save when
operations are provided from outside of the Republic or can be
provided remotely by a person from their normal place of residence.’
[17]
It is also not in dispute that on 29 April 2020 Government Notice
R480 was published in
Government Gazette 43258 in terms of which the
period of the lockdown was stated to be from midnight on 26 March to
30 April 2020.
The movement of persons was also restricted during
this period and the country’s national borders were opened for
limited
purposes. It is not in dispute that on 30 May 2020 Government
Notice 615 was published which had the effect of ameliorating this
dire situation. Amongst others, aviation training organisations were
allowed to provide virtual and contact training to pilot students
that were in South Africa, albeit subject to the other Covid-19
regulations and directions. The period from 26 March 2020 to 30
April
2020 is referred to in this judgment as ‘the national
lockdown.’
[18]
It is also not in issue that an outbreak of Covid-19 occurred within
a radius of 25 km
of the business address of PTC and of JOC in
Gqeberha on 21 March 2020, and within a radius of 25 km of the Port
Alfred business
premises of 43 Air School on 25 April 2020. Further,
it is not disputed that 43 Air School, in respect of its third claim,
and
PTC and JOC in respect of their claims, have not complied with
the general and specific reporting clauses in the policy.
The
Issues
[19]
Against the background of those facts, the issues arising from the
respondents’
claims and AIG’s defences thereto, will be
considered in turn. The issues are the following: (a) whether the
policy (ie in
respect of business interruption) was joint or
composite? (this relates to the claims of 43 Air School, PTC and
JOC); (b) whether
the respondents had to comply with the reporting
clauses in the policy before bringing the application and before
rendering AIG
liable under the policy (this relates to the claims of
43 Air School, PTC and JOC); (c) whether PTC was insured under the
policy;
and (d) whether 43 Air School, in respect of its first and
second claims, had proved that it ought to be indemnified for its
loss,
ie that its loss in respect of those claims was causally
connected to the extended defined event as contemplated in the
policy.
Joint
or composite policy/cover
[20]
In support of the claims of 43 Air School, it was contended for the
first time by Mr Musson
in the replying affidavit filed in the
application on behalf of all the respondents that the policy was a
joint one, essentially
covering all the entities in the ‘43 Air
School Group’. This group, according to Mr Musson, included 43
Air School,
PTC and JOC. It was also contended in that regard that
accordingly the outbreak of Covid-19 in Gqeberha on 21 March 2020,
and the
outbreak at Lanseria on 27 March 2020, constituted the
extended defined event as envisaged in the policy and triggered AIG’s
liability under the policy for business interruption cover in respect
of all the claimants within the 43 Air School Group.
[21]
In contending that the policy was a joint one (ie as opposed to a
composite policy) 43 Air School
essentially relies on the following:
(i) its version of the interrelationship between itself, PTC and JOC
at ‘corporate and
operational levels’; (ii) the
definition of the term ‘insured’ in the policy; (iii) the
definition of the term
‘business’ in the policy and its
assertion that the respondents were part of a group, ‘43 Air
School Group’;
(iv) the fact that the cover for business
interruption in the policy is stated to be in a globular amount of R
66 443 230
and that no distinction is made between the different
insured entities in respect of the amount of cover; and (v) the fact
that
the premium payable under the policy was also expressed as a
globular amount of R 59 600 plus VAT for all insured , ie, and not
split as per insured.
[22]
According to the argument of 43 Air School: ‘When one bears in
mind that the assets
are combined under the umbrella of 43 Air School
it is both logical and businesslike to conclude that response under
the policy
could be triggered by infections or contagious disease
within a radius of 25 km of just one of the premises used for the
business
as this had the effect of giving rise to a lockdown of all
the business activities at all the premises.’ Thus, according
to this argument, the outbreak within 25 km of the business premises
in Lanseria or Gqeberha was sufficient to trigger AIG’s
liability in respect of the claims of 43 Air school (and by
extension, that of PTC and JOC).
[23]
According to AIG, the policy was a composite one in respect of the
business interruption,
because the gross profit was the basis of the
insurance and the gross profit of each of the entities was separate
and distinct.
While one entity had an interest in its own gross
profit, that same interest was not shared by the other entities. The
interest
of each entity in that gross profit, was at best, separate
and different or diverse.
[24]
Determining whether a
policy is joint, or composite is a matter of its interpretation and
of the nature of the interest(s) of the
insured.
[3]
The definition of ‘insured’ in the policy may indicate
whether it is one or the other, but not necessarily so. It may
be
necessary to consider other clauses or provisions in the policy that
could indicate its nature. It is accepted that where a
policy covers
more than one insured, it may either be joint (which effectively
means that there is only one policy), or composite
(which means that
there is in fact a bundle of policies contained in one document).
[25]
In
Arnould
[4]
the difference between joint and composite policies is described as
follows:
‘
Generally, where
two or more interests are insured under the same policy, the policy
will be construed as a composite insurance,
insuring each person
interested severally in respect of his own interest. There can only
be a joint insurance in the strict sense
when the assureds have a
joint interest in the insured property, as where they are joint
owners. If the policy is joint, each assured
must be joined in any
proceedings, and defences arising from the conduct of any of them are
available against them all. Payment
to one joint assured operates as
a good discharge under the policy.’
[26]
It is also pointed out in
MacGillivray
,
[5]
with reference to the decision in
Samuel
Ltd v Dumas
,
[6]
that ‘there cannot be a joint insurance policy unless the
interests of the several persons who are interested in the
subject-matter
are joint interests, so that they are exposed to the
same risks and will suffer a joint loss by the occurrence of an
insured peril.’
[27]
The position in English
law is that the question whether an insurance policy is joint, or
composite, is a matter of construction,
but if the words used are
capable of either meaning they are to be construed according to the
nature of the interest concerned.
[7]
The same would apply in South African law. In
Gordon
& Getz
,
[8]
the subject is dealt with under the topic of ‘Divisibility’
and the position is stated as follows: ‘ Where the
interests of
several persons are covered by the same policy, and the question
arises whether by the act of one the rights of all
are to be
affected, it must be considered whether the contract is entire in
respect of all or may be construed as a separate insurance
for each,
It has been held that an insurance in one policy for the owners of a
ship is not divisible, and the illegal act of one,
without the
knowledge of the others , avoids the entire contract as if all had
concurred. The rule is the same in all cases where
the persons for
whose benefit the insurance is made, have a joint or common interest
in the subject-matter insured.’
[28]
The high court did not make an unequivocal finding that the policy in
question was either
composite or joint. But it found that even though
the definition of the term ‘insured’ in the policy
contained wording
commonly used to identify a composite policy,
namely, the words: ‘they have authority to ensure jointly and
severally each
for their respective rights or interests’, the
‘event which impacted the one facility has an impact on the
other facilities
as well’ and that AIG did not dispute the
version of the respondents ‘regarding the losses suffered or
that the business
interruption of one facility did not impact the
other.’
[29]
The high court opted for
what it termed ‘a common-sense approach’, which it held
it derived from
Guardrisk
,
[9]
namely, that the respondents were entitled to relief ‘especially
[since] they shared the same facilities to conduct training
and for
support and ongoing or secondary training’. This latter finding
was clearly incorrect as there was no evidence of
any of the
respondents ‘sharing the same facilities’. But also,
because the approach did not consider the fact that
the
subject-matter of the insurance cover (ie for business interruption)
was gross profit as defined in the policy. There was no
evidence that
the respondents had or shared a common gross profit, or that they had
a joint and common interest in each other’s
gross profit.
[30]
The definition of ‘insured’ in the policy is not helpful
in determining whether
the cover in question was joint or composite,
but it does indicate that there were multiple insureds and that some
of the insurance
might have been joint and other insurance separate
or composite. In that definition only two of the insured are
identified by name,
namely, NAC and 43 Air School. The other insured
in terms of the policy are those whom the two named entities
(respectively) ‘have
the authority to insure’ ie those
whom they are mandated to insure. According to the definition, these
may include their
respective subsidiaries, member companies managed
or controlled by them, joint venture partners, social and
recreational clubs,
and societies (and any other persons or entities)
whom they are authorised to insure. The nature of the insurance may
either be
joint, or several, in terms of which each of the insureds
are covered in respect of their respective rights and interests.
[31]
The authorities referred to above, confirm that the mere fact that
there are several persons
or entities insured under one policy does
not make that policy one of joint insurance. Whether it is a joint
insurance policy depends
on the interests of those persons or
entities. If their interest in the subject matter of the insurance is
joint, in the sense
that they are exposed to the same risk and will
suffer the same loss on occurrence of the peril insured against, that
may be indicative
of the policy being joint. However, where their
interests are different, even though it is in respect of the same
subject-matter,
the policy would not be a joint one, but composite,
which is intended to insure each of the insured separately in respect
of its
own interests.
[32]
The fact that they may
share facilities or have an interrelationship at operational level,
or the fact that the maximum cover is
a singular globular amount or
that the premium is payable in a singular globular amount, does not
mean that the policy is a joint
one.
[10]
The nature of the interest in the subject matter is the decisive
determinant.
[33]
In this instance, the subject matter of the business interruption
insurance is the gross
profit of the insured entity. If the different
entities do not have the same, or a common interest in each other’s
‘gross
profit’, but have separate or different interest
in that regard, the policy in respect of business interruption cannot
be
joint but is composite. AIG contends that 43 Air School, PTC and
JOC do not have a joint interest, in the sense discussed, in each
other’s gross profit, but, at best, have different interests in
that regard. The fact that each of these entities has brought
its own
claim in respect of its own interest, and that the claim was not a
joint one, underscores the conclusion that the business
interruption
insurance cover, in respect of each of them, was not joint, but
composite. The ‘breach of conditions’
term of the policy
appears to confirm this. It provides: ‘The Conditions of this
policy shall apply individually to each
insured entity and not
collectively to them so that any breach shall prejudice only the
Insured entity to which the breach applies.’
The
reporting obligation
[34]
The first general condition of the policy, insofar as is relevant to
these proceedings,
provides as follows:
‘
1. Reporting of
Claims
a) On
the happening of any event which may result in a claim under this
Policy the Insured shall, (subject to
the provisions of any Claims
Preparation Costs or similar extension) at their own expense [:]
i)
give notice thereof to the Insurer as soon as reasonably
possible and
provide particulars of any other insurance covering such events as
are hereby insured;
ii)
…
iii)
As soon as practicable after the event submit to the Insurer
full
details in writing of any claim;
iv)
give the Insurer such proofs, information and sworn declarations
as
the Insurer may require and forward to the Insurer immediately any
notice of claim or any communication, writ, summons or other
legal
process issued or commenced against the Insured in connection with
the event giving rise to the claim …’
[35]
The second specific condition of the policy, under the heading
‘Claims’, provides
as follows:
‘
On the happening
of any Defined Event in consequence of which a claim may be made
under this section the Insured shall, in addition
to complying with
General Condition 1 – Reporting of Claims and General Condition
2 – Insurer’s Rights, with
due diligence do and concur in
doing and permit to be done all the things that may be reasonably
practicable to minimise or check
any interruption of or interference
with the Business or to avoid or diminish the loss and in the event
of a claim being made under
this Section, shall at their own expense
(subject to the provisions of General Extension 1 – Claims
Preparation Costs) deliver
to the Insurer in writing a statement
setting forth particulars of their claim together with details of all
other Insurance covering
the loss or any part of it or consequential
loss of any kind resulting therefrom.
No
claim under this Section shall be payable unless the terms of the
Specific Condition have been complied with and in the event
of
non-compliance therewith in any respect, any payment on account of
the claim already made shall be repaid to the Insurer forthwith.
’
(Emphasis added.)
[36]
The respondents have
advanced various reasons in an attempt to justify their failure to
comply with those conditions, namely: (a)
that even though timeous
notice of 43 Air School’s first and second claims had been
given, those claims had been rejected
‘in principle’
without any evidence that they had been investigated by AIG; (b) the
rejection of those claims ‘evinced
a clear intention on the
part of [AIG], not to honour its obligations under the policy’;
(c) the terms of the policy do not
expressly require that notice of
the claim be given before the institution of litigation; and (e) in
instances where defendants
have attempted to resist a claim on the
basis that no notice or demand had preceded the issue of summons, it
has been consistently
held by the courts that the summons or
application is in itself a demand,
[11]
ie implying that the service of the application in this matter was
compliance with the reporting obligations referred to above.
[37]
It is not clear why the
high court did not deal with this issue of reporting and the
implications thereof. Those conditions are
clear concerning the
obligations of an insured intending to claim under the policy. In the
latter part of the specific condition,
which is emphasised above, it
is unequivocally stated that AIG would not be liable for payment
under the policy unless and until
that condition had been complied
with. It is a ‘condition precedent’ to the liability of
the insurer in the sense that
a failure to comply with it suspends
AIG’s liability under the policy.
[12]
[38]
In
Russel
Loveday NO v Collins Submarine Pipelines
,
[13]
this Court held as follows: ‘In
Norris
v Legal and General Assurance Society Ltd and Another
1962 (4) SA 743
(C), a
case referred to earlier in this judgment, Watermeyer, J., discussed
the approach of our Courts and the Courts in England
to the problem
of deciding whether a condition is a condition precedent or not. He
observed (at p. 748) that the trend of the decisions
in South Africa
is to regard conditions in insurance policies relating to the giving
of notice to the insurers as conditions precedent,
but concluded, as
mentioned earlier in this judgement, that in the ultimate result the
problem is one of arriving at the intention
of the parties from the
terms of the contract considered as a whole.
Condition
C does not say explicitly, nor by clear implication from its terms,
that non- compliance will be visited with the
penalty of
forfeiture. One would expect that, if an insurer intends to protect
himself by incorporating a provision which will
have that effect, he
would do so in clear terms ….’
[39]
The general and specific conditions in the policy and quoted earlier
are explicit as to
the requirements of the insurer and the duties of
the insured. It contains clear and precise directions, and the
specific condition
spells out in unequivocal terms what the
consequences would be if they are not complied with. It provides that
in such circumstances
the claim is not payable, and any payment made
on a claim in respect of which there has been no compliance is to be
returned to
the insurer (AIG).
[40]
The fact that AIG in principle rejected the first two claims of 43
Air School does not
mean that 43 Air School, in respect of its third
claim, or the other insureds who wanted to claim under the policy,
did not have
to comply with the reporting conditions in respect of
their claims. There is no allegation in the founding papers of the
application
brought by the respondents that AIG had repudiated the
policy. The rejection of a claim brought under the policy is not
necessarily
a repudiation of the policy itself. It is further a
matter of common sense that notice of the claim ought to be given to
an insurer
before an insured resorts to an enforcement of the claim
through litigation. The conditions require reporting ‘on the
happening
of the event’, this implies prompt reporting and does
not allow for a reporting only after the insured has resorted to
litigation
to enforce the claim. And lastly, the reporting
requirement is not the equivalent of a demand. Usually, a demand
follows once all
conditions precedent in a contract or transaction
have been met. The reporting requirement, on the other hand, is a
condition precedent
for AIG’s liability in terms of the policy.
The service of the application, whilst essential, cannot qualify as
such. Another
point to add is that when 43 Air School reported its
first and second claims to AIG it did not report, or purport to
report its
third claim, or the claims of PTC and JOC as well.
Is
PTC an insured under the policy?
[41]
In its answering affidavit, AIG denies that Holdings and PTC were
insured under the policy
and refers to the fact that the insured are
identified and described in the policy as follows: ‘National
Airways Corporation
(Pty) Ltd and 43 Air School (Pty) Ltd and
subsidiary companies, managed, controlled, member companies, joint
ventures sports, social
and recreational clubs and societies and any
other persons or entities for which they have the authority to
ensure, jointly or
severally, each for their own respective rights
and interests’. AIG contends that on the facts alleged in the
founding affidavit
of the respondents, neither Holdings, nor PTC fall
within that description of the ‘insured’ and that,
according to
Mr Shaun Musson, who deposed to the founding affidavit,
and an organogram that is annexed to that affidavit, PTC is a
subsidiary
of Holdings.
[42]
AIG also refers to the fact that in the founding affidavit Mr Musson,
who described himself,
as a ‘director’ of each of the
respondents, states, inter-alia, the following: that 50% of the
shares in PTC are held
by Holdings and the balance by a trust; that
the reason NAC is referred to in the policy is because it was the
holder, until 30
June 2019, of 100% of the shares in 43 Air School;
that a management buyout occurred which resulted in Holdings
acquiring 100%
of the shareholding of 43 Air School; that despite
Marsh being fully aware of this fact, when the policy was eventually
issued
the old name of NAC remained on the policy even though their
position, as holder of the shares in (inter alia) PTC, had been
assumed
by Holdings.
[43]
And AIG points out that although Mr Musson tried to create the
impression that Marsh was
to amend the policy to reflect the position
after Holdings allegedly bought the NAC share in 43 Air School, there
was never an
attempt made to amend the policy to reflect Holdings as
an insured. It is clear from the papers that even though AIG dealt
with
Marsh, and the latter with 43 Air School, concerning the renewal
of the policy, there was no instruction to change the names of
the
insured on the policy. On the contrary, the ultimate instruction
conveyed to AIG seems to have been to leave the names of the
insured
on the policy as they appeared all along.
[44]
It is not disputed that on 28 June 2019, Ms Mbilase of Marsh
addressed an email to Ms Wide,
a senior underwriter at AIG, in which
she informed Ms Wide that NAC will be selling its interest in 43 Air
School and that a split
of the policies was envisaged if that
occurred. Ms Mbilase wanted confirmation that AIG would keep NAC and
43 Air School covered
pending the renewal of the policy. On 26 July
2019 Ms Mbilase again wrote to Ms Wide and to Mr Govindasami of AIG’s
underwriting
department stating the following: ‘We were trying
to separate the policies now at renewal to avoid disruption when the
deal
finally goes through, NAC hasn’t actually disposed of
their interest in 43 Air School yet. We would like to therefore renew
the regional NAC policy inclusive of 43 Air School per previous terms
received and then issue a mid-term cancellation once we have
sorted
out these issues. We have already had two extensions of cover (which
we are now essentially treating as one extension) and
a renewal of
the policy as opposed to another extension will take some of this
pressure off while we get sorted on the individual
quotes.’
[45]
On 31 July 2019 Ms Mbilase addressed a further email to Ms Wide and
Mr Govindasami, attaching
the policy slip for policy renewal for both
NAC and 43 Air School. And on 10 September 2019 Ms Wide signed the
placing slip on
which the insured continued to be described as in the
past. The ‘insured’ were still reflected as in the
description
of the term ‘insured’ in the policy, which is
quoted earlier in this judgement. Significantly, NAC still appeared
as
an insured and no mention is made of Holdings. On 17 October 2019
the policy wording was sent by Marsh to Ms Wide for signature
and she
signed it on 30 October 2019. The ‘insured’ were still
described as before. No cancellation of variation was
submitted in
which Holdings was named or substituted as an insured, and that
remained the status quo.
[46]
AIG’s averment that Holdings was not an insured under the
policy was not challenged
by the respondents in the replying
affidavit. The case made out by the respondents in the founding
affidavit was that NAC held
100% of the shares in 43 Air School until
30 June 2019, when Holdings is alleged to have acquired those shares.
But that statement
made by Mr Musson, as a deponent to that
affidavit, is contradicted by the emails exchanged between Ms Mbilase
of Marsh and Ms
Wide of AIG, which confirm that the acquisition by
Holdings had still not taken place by 31 July 2019. The policy
itself, was eventually
renewed at the end of October 2019 with NAC
still appearing as an insured on the policy, and with no mention of
Holdings.
[47]
The respondents did not, as they were obliged to, state exactly and
unequivocally when
Holdings acquired the shareholding of NAC in PTC
or in 43 Air School. The motivation for that is not clear, but what
appears from
the papers is that such a change in shareholding did
occur at some time. PTC became a subsidiary of Holdings, which on the
respondent’s
own admission, was not an insured under the
policy.
[48]
The contention on behalf of the respondents, in support of their
argument that PTC was
an insured, namely, that PTC had been paid out
under the policy in respect of a claim made in October 2019 in
respect of an alleged
loss suffered when items were stolen from a
motor-vehicle after its locks had been jammed, is of no assistance to
them. Because,
at the time that happened PTC might still have been an
insured as a subsidiary of NAC, or it might have been paid in error.
The
onus was clearly on the respondents, or more particularly, PTC,
to disprove that fact in these proceedings. And it has not.
Causation
[49]
A letter from AIG (presumably to Marsh) dated 1 July 2020, regarding
notification of a
possible claim which 43 Air School had sent to AIG
on 6 May 2020, gives insight into AIG’s interpretation of the
policy concerning
the issue of causation and its liability. The
letter states, inter alia, the following:
‘
1.
We refer to the notification of a possible claim sent to us by the
insured on 6 May
2020.
2.
As you are aware, Renier Kruger Lloyd Warwick International
South
Africa (Pty) Ltd was appointed by us to investigate the insured’s
claim.
3.
We have considered the claim in its current form and the information
provided. At this stage, we are of the view that the insured has not
made out the claim within the ambit of the Policy.
4.
The insured must prove loss as a result of an interruption of
or
interference with its business in consequence of an outbreak of
COVID-19 within a 25 km radius of the premises insured.
5.
On the information provided, the insured’s aviation School
in
Port Alfred was closed from 27 March 2020 when the national lockdown
became effective and the insured’s loss has been
calculated
from 26 April 2020 which is stated in its claim as being the “
trigger
event date
” and is the date upon which the first positive
case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Ndlambe district of Port
Alfred. We
understand that other than this isolated case there have
been no other reports of confirmed cases in or around Port Alfred.
6.
Your client’s loss which has been calculated from 26 April
2020, after the commencement of the National Lockdown, is stated as
having been suffered as a result of “
lockdown legislation in
place
”.
7.
The policy does not insure business interruption and loss in
consequence of Government Regulation or the National Lockdown.
8.
The Financial Services Conduct Authority, in its communication
dated
18 June 2020, accepts that the National Lockdown is not a trigger for
a valid business interruption claim and that the interruption
of the
insured’s business must be proved to have been due to the
occurrence of COVID-19 within the required radius.
9.
We have yet to be provided with evidence to prove that the insurance
business closed in consequence of the outbreak of COVID-19 within a
25 km radius of the aviation school.
10.
On the information provided, the outbreak of the disease occurred
after
the insured’s business was closed and the loss appears to
have been suffered in consequence of the National Lockdown which
is
not covered by the policy.
11.
As currently stated, your client’s claim does not meet the
requirements
for cover under the infectious or contagious disease
extension.
12.
That being said, we are happy to consider any additional information
provided.
13.
The insurers rights under the policy and in law remain reserved.’
[50]
In response to that
letter, 43 Air School requested AIG to reconsider its claims in light
of the (then) ‘recent’ court
decisions. Seemingly,
reference was being made to the decisions of the Western Cape high
court in
Café
Chameleon
[14]
and
Ma-Afrika
Hotels (Pty) Ltd
and
Another v Santam Limited
(Ma-Afrika)
,
[15]
and possibly the decision of the Queen’s Bench Division (QB) in
Financial
Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd and others (FCA)
.
[16]
[51]
In
Café Chameleon
the Western Cape high court dealt
with similar insurance cover, where a similar argument was advanced.
There it held that the insurer
was liable to indemnify the claimant
for its loss from a stipulated date, arising from the interruption of
its business due to
the national lockdown brought about by Covid-19.
Having rejected a similar argument as that of AIG in this matter,
that court,
essentially, held that it was fallacious to argue that
the claimant’s loss was caused by the regulatory response to
Covid-19
and not by the outbreak of Covid-19 within the agreed
radius. Particularly, because Covid-19 was the very reason for the
regulatory
intervention. It also held that the government’s
response was part of the insured peril and was covered by the policy
in
that matter.
[52]
In
Ma-Afrika
the Western Cape high court dealt with a similar
argument as was raised in
Café Chameleon
and in this
case. There, the insured also tried to avoid liability for business
interruption, arguing that the loss was due to
the interruption
having been brought about by the national lockdown and not due to the
local outbreak of the disease. Having analysed
the policy and the
developments in the law and having been persuaded, inter-alia, by the
QB decision in the
FCA
matter, that court rejected the
argument of the insurer and essentially held as follows:
‘
We are in
agreement with the conclusion in
FCA
that construing the policy in a composite was undoubtedly the proper
starting point. Insurance is intended to serve as a social
safety net
to cover financially devastating losses and compensate injured
parties. This is precisely the safety net required as
a result of the
unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic. The policy does not state that the
infectious disease must be limited to a local
outbreak only, or that
the local authority response must be exclusively due to such outbreak
only, and no other, or that the policy
does not respond with the
disease and the response is broad and national. It therefore appears
that notwithstanding the fact that
the nature of the policy and the
specific provisions in the extensions are essentially local in
nature, it cannot be said that
the nationwide or global events were
not contemplated or insured. We are in agreement with the conclusion
reached in
FCA
at para 104 that: “They must also have contemplated that the
authorities might take action in relation to the outbreak of
a
notifiable disease as a whole, and not to particular parts of an
outbreak and would be most likely to take action which had any
regard
to whether cases fell within or outside a line 25 miles away from any
particular insured premises.’’
We therefore conclude
that Covid-19 and government response to Covid-19 are an
[inseparable] part of the same insured peril. The
breakout of a
notifiable disease, whether reported to a local or national authority
always comes with the risk of a government
response and make the
government response part of the insured peril of notifiable diseases.
We are satisfied that both factual
and legal causation are
established in respect of the trigger event referred to in the
policy. We accordingly conclude that the
national response to the
Covid- 19 disease that has a local occurrence is sufficient to
satisfy the policy. Had it not been
for Covid-19 and the government’s
response, the applicants’ business would not have been
interrupted and they would
not have suffered the loss. In our view
the applicants’ losses are exactly what they had insured
themselves against.’
[53]
The high court in
Ma-Afrika
accordingly declared that
the insurer was liable to indemnify the insured in terms of the
business interruption section of the policy
(in that matter) for such
loss that the insured was able to prove to have suffered as a result
of loss of revenue occasioned by
the occurrence of a notifiable
disease in the form of Covid-19, occurring within a radius of 40 km
of the insured’s premises
on or about the stipulated date. The
insurer sought to appeal against the whole of that order but by the
time the
Ma-Afrika
matter came on appeal
before this Court
[17]
, the
Guardrisk
decision had been handed
down by this Court on 20 December 2020. Seemingly, persuaded by that
decision the insurer in
Ma-Afrika
did not proceed with its
appeal against the whole order and confined its appeal to the high
court’s order relating to the
indemnity period
[18]
.
[54]
In
Guardrisk
this Court basically
confirmed what had been held in that matter by the high court and
what had been held by the high court in
Ma-Afrika
regarding the issue of
the insured peril and causation. In
Guardrisk
the main findings by this
Court were: that a notifiable disease usually requires a government
response and this meant that the response
was part of the insured
peril,
[19]
that nothing in the
language of the policy in that case supported the interpretation
favoured by the insured, namely, that the
policy covers only a
response to a localised outbreak and not to a countrywide one,
[20]
and that the insured risk was Covid-19 and government’s
response to it and that, but for the event – Covid-19 and the
response – the business would not have been interrupted, making
the outbreak within the stipulated radius the factual cause
of the
business interruption.
[21]
[55]
Surprisingly, in its letter of repudiation dated 23 March 2021 AIG,
inter-alia, still maintained
the following:
‘
7.
If one has regard to the judgments of our courts in the
abovementioned cases, and that
of the Supreme Court in the appeal of
the FCA test case in the UK, an outbreak of Covid- 19 within the
25 km radius of the
Insured’s premises must precede the
restrictions imposed by the government. In response to the Covid 19
pandemic in order
for the Insured to be covered for the effects of
the restrictions.
8.
The Insured is unable to establish an outbreak of Covid-19 within
a
25 km radius of its premises prior to the commencement of the
national lockdown.
9.
In the circumstances, the Insured is not entitled to be indemnified
under the Policy for loss in consequence of Covid-19 unless it can
prove a causal connection between the outbreak of Covid-19 within
the
radius and its loss, outside of the national lockdown. In other
words, the Insured would have to prove that it would have suffered
the loss had the national lockdown not occurred.
10.
The Insured’s claim is rejected, and AIG denies be liable to
indemnify
the Insured under the Policy.’
[56]
The English authority
referred to in that letter by AIG is the decision of the English
Supreme Court in the
FCA
matter.
[22]
The matter first came before the QB and then went on appeal to the
Supreme Court where some of what had been out in the court of
first
instance was overturned and some confirmed by the majority. In that
matter the court dealt with the wording of the policies
of several
insurers, none of which were the same. In
Guardrisk
this
Court referred to the decision of the QB and particularly to the
findings relating to the position of one of the insured in
that
matter, namely, Argenta.
[23]
As this Court cautioned in
Guardrisk,
those
decisions must be referred to with caution.
[24]
They were not only decided on a set of agreed facts concerning
different policies with different wording but did not deal with
wording that is the same as in this matter.
[57]
In any event, the point
raised by AIG is the same, or remarkably similar, to a point raised
by the insurer in
Guardrisk
.
There the insurer argued that the policy did not cover ‘loss
following the close of the premises as a result of a government
order’. It also argued that there was no causal link between
the defined event there (a Covid- 19 outbreak within a
50 km
radius) and the interruption of the insured’s business, because
the interruption was a consequence of the national
lockdown and not
the local occurrence of the disease.
[25]
That submission was rejected by this Court. It held that what lied
‘at the heart of the interpretation question’ was
whether
the infectious disease clause in that matter covered the government’s
response to Covid-19
[26]
. It
further held that the parties there would have appreciated the fact
that a notifiable disease would require a government response
and
that they must therefore be assumed to have understood and agreed
that the ‘business interruption’ referred to
in the
infectious disease clause in that matter, might result from a public
health response to the occurrence of the infectious
disease.
[27]
[58]
This Court held in
Guardrisk
that it is precisely
because certain notifiable diseases have the potential to spread that
they may require government action nationally,
or provincially, or
locally to prevent the spread
[28]
.
And further, that the government response in that case was integral
to the insured peril, namely, the outbreak of infectious disease
within the radius and that the government response may come before or
after that localised outbreak. Thus, the government response
and the
outbreak had to be regarded as ‘part and parcel’ of the
insured peril. Also of significance, this Court accepted
there that
‘because it is part of the insured peril, the government’s
response is covered, not because it is
caused
by what was insured
against; it is covered because it
is
what is insured
against’
[29]
. Therefore,
this court held in
Guardrisk
that the contention of
the insurer there, that the policy in that matter did not indemnify
business interruption due to closure
following a government order,
had to fail.
[59]
Having found that the
government’s response to Covid-19 and that insured’s
consequent loss are covered by the policy,
this Court in
Guardrisk
expressed the view that
that conclusion rendered the question of causation superfluous.
[30]
But it, nevertheless, proceeded to consider the question of
causation. Having found that the local occurrence of Covid-19 and the
government’s national lockdown was the factual cause of the
insured’s loss it went on to consider the question of legal
causation. It concluded as follows regarding that issue: ‘Once
we accept …that the government’s response through
the
imposition of the lockdown, was both a proximate cause, or as the
high court found, sufficiently closely connected to the business
interruption and consequent loss, the conclusion that legal causation
was proved, follows inevitably.’
[31]
[60]
Turning to the facts of
this case, this is not really a causation issue as AIG would have it,
but an interpretation issue. If the
extended event (or disease)
clause is properly interpreted, there is no problem with causation.
It seems fallacious to contend
that the very disease that was
responsible for the government’s response (ie the national
lockdown), is not the cause of
the business interruption which brings
about the loss that the insured is seeking indemnity for. The
government response was necessitated
by the disease itself. These
events or causes are integrated or ‘inextricably connected’.
However, the insurer’s
liability is only triggered when the
disease breaks out within the agreed radius. It is only from that
point on that the insured
is covered for losses and additional
expenses incurred because of the business interruption caused by the
contemplated disease.
The factual and legal, or proximate causation
is established in respect of the trigger event referred to in the
policy.
[32]
[61]
The national response to
Covid-19 and the outbreak within the radius of 43 Air School’s
business premises in Port Alfred
was sufficient to satisfy the
requirement in the policy. If it had not been for Covid-19 and the
Government’s response, the
business of 43 Air School would not
have been interrupted and 43 Air School would not have suffered the
loss. The losses of 43
Air School as per its first and second claims
are exactly the kind of losses it intended to insure itself against
under the policy.
It has proved that the risk it was insured against
has occurred and it has brought those claims ‘within the four
corners
of the promise made to [it].’
[33]
Summation
43
Air School’s Claims
[62]
In light of the issues considered thus far, the third claim of 43 Air
School must fail
because it is based squarely on an incorrect
assumption that the policy was a joint one. In any event, another
reason why the third
claim must fail is because there was no
compliance with the reporting conditions under the policy in respect
of that claim.
[63]
Counsel for AIG argued that the character of the first and second
claims of 43 Air
School had changed because since they were
incorporated into the application, because of 43 Air School’s
assumption that
the policy was a joint one. And, secondly, and in any
event, 43 Air School has not proved, in respect of those claims, that
it
was entitled to be indemnified under the policy, because it has
not shown a causal connection between the outbreak of Covid-19 within
the 25 km radius of its premises and its loss.
[64]
The first argument lacks merit because 43 Air School never abandoned
its reliance on the
fact that there was an outbreak of Covid-19
within 25 km of its Port Alfred business premises on 25 April 2020.
Even though those
claims are embodied in the application, they are
fundamentally still based on that fact, although 43 Air School,
relying on its
erroneous view that the policy was joint, sought to
bolster them by also relying on the fact that there was an outbreak
of Covid-19
within 25 km of the Gqeberha premises on 21 March 2020.
The second argument has no merit for the reasons stated above.
PTC
and JOC’s claims
[65]
PTC’s claim must fail because it has not proved that it was an
insured under the
policy, including for business interruption cover,
and because it did not report the claim as required under the
reporting conditions
of the policy. The claim of JOC must also fail
because its claim was also not reported as required in terms of the
policy.
Conclusion
[66]
AIG has been shown to be liable for the first and second claims of 43
Air School but has
not been shown to be liable in respect of 43 Air
School’s third claim and the claims of PTC and JOC. I am of the
view that
this does not justify a costs order in the appellant’s
favour and that a more appropriate order would be for the parties to
bear their own costs.
[67]
In the result, the following order is made:
1. The appeal in
respect of the order of the high court insofar as it relates to the
third claim of the second respondent
and in respect of the claims of
the third and fourth respondents succeeds.
2.
The appeal in respect of the first and second
claims of the second respondent is dismissed.
3.
The parties are to bear their own costs of the
appeal.
4.
The order of the high court is amended to read as
follows:
‘
1.
The respondent is liable to compensate the second applicant in
respect of its two claims for business interruption
submitted,
respectively, on 19 May 2020 for the period 26 April 2020 to 30 April
2020, and on 9 June 2020 for the period 1 May
2020 to 31 May 2020.
2.
The respondent is directed to engage the second
applicant meaningfully for the purpose of quantifying the monetary
value of the
claims referred to in paragraph 1.
3.
The application is otherwise dismissed, and each
party is to bear its own costs.’
P
COPPIN
ACTING JUDGE OF APPEAL
APPEARANCES
For the
Appellant:
I P Green
SC and R Ismail
Instructed
by:
Webber Wentzel, Sandton
Webbers, Bloemfontein.
For the
Respondent:
K J Van Huyssteen
Instructed
by:
Fluxmans Inc., Johannesburg
Lovius Block Inc.,
Bloemfontein.
[1]
Centrique
Insurance Company Ltd v Oosthuizen and Another
[2019]
ZASCA 11
;
2019 (3) SA 387
(SCA) para 17. See also
Guardrisk
Insurance Company Limited v Café Chameleon CC
[2020]
ZASCA 173
;
[2021] 1 All SA 707
(SCA);
2021 (2) SA 323
(SCA) paras
12-13. In this judgment the decision of the high court in that
matter is referred to either by its reported name,
or as ‘
Café
Chameleon’
.
[2]
Centrique
(fn1)
paras 18-21.
[3]
General
Accident Fire and Life Assurance Corporation, Limited, and another v
Midland Bank, Limited and others
[1940]
2 KB 388
at 404-407.
[4]
Gilman
et al
Arnould:
Law of Marine Insurance and Average
20
th
ed
(2021) at para 11-31. See also R M Merkin
Colinvaux’s
Law of Insurance
13
th
ed
(2022) at paras 15-00 and 15-012; and E J MacGillivray
MacGillivray
on Insurance Law
15
th
ed
(2014) at para 1-203.
[5]
MacGillivray
para
1-202.
[6]
Samuel
Ltd v Dumas
1924
A. C 431
at 445.
[7]
See
Midland
Bank
(fn3)
and
New
Hampshire Insurance Co. and Others v MGN Ltd and Others
[1997]
L.R.L.R 24.
[8]
D M
Davis
Gordon
& Getz: The South African Law of Insurance
4 ed
(1993) at 142.
[9]
Guardrisk
Insurance Company Limited v Café Chameleon CC
[2020]
ZASCA 173; [2021] 1 All SA 707 (SCA); 2021 (2) SA 323 (SCA).
[10]
See,
inter alia,
Corbin
& King Ltd & Ors v AXA Insurance UK Plc (Rev1)
[2022]
EWHC 409
(Comm) (25 February 2022) paras 237-243.
[11]
Reliance
was placed on the decisions, inter alia, in
Standard
Bank of South Africa v Hand
2012
(3) SA 319
(GSJ) para 22 and
Mettle
Development Finance One (Pty) Ltd v Calgro M3 Developments (Pty) Ltd
(A5005/2014, 40945/2011)
[2015] ZAGPJHC 161 (6 July 2015)
.
[12]
12(1)
Lawsa
2 ed
para 377;
Norris
v Legal and General Assurance Society Ltd and Another
1962
(4) SA 743
(C) at 745 and
Russell
NO and Loveday NO v Collins Submarine Pipelines Africa (Pty) Ltd
1975
(1) SA 110
(A) at 148-149.
[13]
Russell
NO and Loveday NO v Collins Submarine Pipelines Africa (Pty) Ltd
1975
(1) SA 110
(A) at 148
.
[14]
Reported
as
Café
Chameleon CC v Guardrisk Insurance Company Ltd
[2020] ZAWCHC 86
(26
June 2020)
.
The decision of this Court in that matter is referred to herein as
Guardrisk.
[15]
Ma-Afrika Hotels
(Pty) Ltd and Another v Santam Limited
[2020]
ZAWCHC 160; [2021] 1 All SA 195 (WCC).
[16]
Financial Conduct
Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd and others
[2020]
EWHC 2448 (Comm).
[17]
This
Court’s decision is reported as
Santam
Limited v Ma-Afrika Hotels (Pty) Ltd & another
[2021]
ZASCA 141; [2022] 1 ALL SA 376 (SCA).
[18]
Ibid
para 2.
[19]
Guardrisk
(above)
para 19-20.
[20]
Ibid
para 32.
[21]
Ibid
para 45.
[22]
Reported
as
Financial
Conduct Authority v Arch Insurance (UK) Ltd and others (Hiscox
Action Group intervening)
[2021]
UKSC 1.
[23]
See
Guardrisk
(fn
1) paras 52-57.
[24]
Ibid
para 58.
[25]
Ibid
para 14.
[26]
Ibid
para 17.
[27]
Ibid
para 19.
[28]
Ibid
para 18.
[29]
Ibid
para 21.
[30]
Ibid
para 34.
[31]
Ibid
para 51.
[32]
As
contemplated in eg
Napier
v Collet
[1995] ZASCA 44
;
1995
(3) SA 140
(A) at 144.
[33]
Eagle
Star Insurance Co Ltd v Willey
1956
(1) SA 330
(A) at 334.
sino noindex
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