KARLSRUHE (dpa-AFX) - The Federal Court of Justice (BGH) provides clarity to more business owners who had to close in the Corona lockdown and are therefore still in dispute with their insurance company. The judges in Karlsruhe ruled for the first time on Wednesday on insurance conditions in which the insured diseases are not listed individually, but instead reference is made to a list in the Infection Protection Act. In this case, it was not clearly evident whether the version at the time of the conclusion of the contract or at the time of the occurrence of the damage was meant. Therefore, the version that is more favorable for the insured person applies - in this case, the later cut-off date.

This means that those affected may be entitled to money for officially ordered closures after May 23, 2020. On that date, Covid-19 was added to the law as a new condition. The operator of the plaintiff hotel in Hameln will thus receive money from his insurance company at least for a closure in the second lockdown starting in November 2020.

According to the German Insurance Association, however, this form of clause was rather rare. In the vast majority of cases, the illnesses were listed directly in the insurance conditions. There is already a landmark ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) from January 2022, according to which those affected do not get any money because Covid-19 was not included in the insurance./sem/DP/jha