insurer Albingia ordered to indemnify a hotel customer

Second victory for hoteliers and restaurateurs in the standoff that has opposed them since the start of confinement to insurance companies over coverage of operating losses.

After May 22 the Paris commercial court ruled in favor of a Parisian restaurateur who had assigned Axa France, the commercial court of Nanterre, seized in summary proceedings by five hotels, condemned the insurer Albingia to pay them 450,000 euros in provisions to cover two months of operating losses linked to the epidemic of Covid-19, in l waiting for detailed expertise, we learned on Sunday, July 19.

Five establishments of the Originals Hotels brand, managed by HHP Hotels in the Paris region, had summoned their insurer on summary proceedings on July 9, after having sent them a declaration of loss, following their closure on March 15.

“Temporary administrative closure”

According to the order taken on Friday, of which Agence France-Presse (AFP) obtained a copy, the court found that the “Operating losses suffered by hotel companies [étaient] covered by insurance policies taken out with Albingia “. “Whereas the total amount of these losses is still not quantified” and pending the report of a technical expert, appointed by the court, the company Albingia was therefore ordered to pay 450,000 euros in provisions to its customers.

The court order also states a warranty clause entitled “Temporary administrative closure”, of the chapter ” operating losses “, stipulates that those covered are “Which are the direct consequence of the temporary closure of the establishment provided by the municipal or prefectural authorities following only the following events: murder, suicide, contagious disease, epidemic, food poisoning or poisoning”. This clause is written in “Terms [qui] are clear and not subject to any interpretation ”, stresses the court.

“First round”

In his defense, the insurer argued that in this case, the hotels had not been forced to close completely and that the closings due to a ministerial decree had no value as municipal or prefectural administrative closings.

But, on this point, the Nanterre court dismissed the insurer, holding that “Ministerial orders (…) being of national application “, there was no need to invoke a prefectural or municipal decision. And that, moreover, the hotels, if they had remained partially open, had only been opened to accommodate the nursing staff mobilized to fight against the epidemic.

For the Deputy Managing Director of HHP Hotels, Stéphane Flambert, this court decision constitutes “A first run”, he said in a statement inviting “Insurers to take into consideration the daily difficulties encountered by cafeterias, hoteliers and restaurateurs for whom shops are often the working tool, the heritage and sometimes also the home”.

Contacted by AFP, the insurer Albingia was not reachable on Sunday morning.

At the end of June, Axa announced that it had reached an agreement with several hundred restaurateurs to compensate “A substantial part” of their operating losses linked to the Covid-19 crisis. This announcement came particularly after the highly publicized dispute between the insurer and the Parisian restaurateur Stéphane Manigold.

The Crédit Mutuel group has also been sued via an interim procedure by a restaurant owner in Annecy. In this case, however, the court considered that it was unable to settle this dispute.

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