The hosts of the Reutberg “Klosterbräustüberl” are suing their insurance for compensation for the corona-related closure – not the only case of this type in the district.
- In the coming days, representatives of insurance companies and various landlords from Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen will face each other at the Munich Regional Court.
- The question is whether the insurers have to pay for the losses due to corona-related closings.
- The plaintiffs include the owners of the “Klosterbräustüberl” in Reutberg and the “Klosterschänke” in Dietramszell.
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Sachsenkam – “Because if you take out Allianz insurance, you are fully covered,” a singer trilled in a commercial for the insurance company in the 1980s. But in times of the corona pandemic, advertising promises and reality are not always congruent. Georg Lichtenegger and Bernhard Haindl, at least, had to experience this.
The landlords of the “Klosterbräustüberl” on Reutberg had taken out so-called business closure insurance long before Corona. This insurance, which is common in the catering and food processing industries, is liable for damage that occurs when authorities close businesses to prevent the spread of notifiable diseases.
But when the Klosterbräu owners report the damage to their insurance company in the first lockdown, they experience a nasty surprise: Allianz refuses to pay. It is about 250,950 euros that the restaurateurs claim on the basis of the insurance policy.
Insurers offer to pay 15 percent of the agreed maximum payment
Instead, Allianz offers them – like all their other policyholders – to pay 15 percent of the maximum payment agreed in the policy. This offer was the result of negotiations between the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Hotel and Restaurant Association and several insurance companies in April 2020. Economy Minister Hubert Aiwanger initiated the meeting to support the catering industry, which has been particularly hard hit by Corona – regardless of specific individual cases. “We have provided the hotel and catering businesses concerned with liquidity quickly and easily without acknowledging a legal obligation – without bureaucratic obstacles,” says Allianz spokesman Christian Weishuber. “Over 77 percent of Allianz customers have accepted this aid so far.”
But the landlords from Reutberg refuse this offer. “To fob off customers like that is a cheek,” says Lichtenegger. Only those restaurateurs would have been satisfied with the 15 percent who had their backs to the wall and needed money immediately. “We didn’t want to be processed like that.”
Insurance opinion: Covid-19 is not insured
On March 1, the Munich Regional Court will hear the dispute between the Reutberg hosts and Allianz. “The central question is how the average policyholder understands the terms of the contract,” explains the Munich specialist lawyer for insurance law, Markus Goltzsch, who represents the Reutberg hosts. Goltzsch reads from the insurance contract between the landlords and Allianz: “The insurance offers compensation if the competent authority closes the insured business due to the Infection Protection Act when a reportable disease or pathogens occur to prevent the spread of reportable diseases or pathogens.” Goltzsch says, Anyone reading this is assuming extensive insurance coverage.
However, an extensive list of reportable diseases is also part of the insurance contract. It names all the diseases listed in the Infection Protection Act for which the insurance is liable – from cholera to tuberculosis and botulism to rabies. Corona is not mentioned there, after all, the virus was still unknown at the time the contract was signed and – unlike today – not listed in the Infection Protection Act.
For Allianz it is therefore clear: “Covid-19 is not listed here and is therefore not insured in our opinion”, as Allianz spokesman Weishuber explains.
Owners of the “Klosterschänke” in Dietramszell also complain
The innkeepers from Reutberg are not the only ones suing Allianz: on February 24, the Munich Regional Court hears the lawsuit brought by the Guggenbichler family, who run the “Klosterschänke” in Dietramszell. It’s about 83,000 euros. “We only insured a closure for 30 days, which is why the sum is not that high. Nevertheless, it would be important to us, ”says Florian Guggenbichler.
On April 21, the district court deals with the lawsuit of another restaurateur from the district against the Axa. It is about 102,000 euros. Axa spokesman Christian Frevert: “The business closure insurance was and is not intended for a global event like this. The insurance cover is aimed at cases in which a pathogen, after it has occurred locally in a company, can be combated by measures such as disinfecting all rooms in order to be able to reopen the company within a foreseeable period of time. ”A typical case for the business closure insurance is intended to be salmonella poisoning.
The Munich Regional Court had already dealt with such lawsuits in the past. A prominent example is the dispute between Nockherberg host Christian Schottenhamel and Allianz, which ended in a settlement in autumn.
Not only the “Klosterbräustüberl” is located on Reutberg in Sachsenkam, but also the well-known Reutberger brewery. This year she traditionally brewed her “Josefibock”, although the Josefifest has to be canceled for the second time in a row. There was also a legal dispute recently about the neighboring Reutberg Monastery: a former nun had sued. What many do not know: A company that works with artificial intelligence is also located in historical rooms that are owned by the monastery.
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