Cricket club waits on High Court ruling
THATCHAM Town Cricket Club is waiting on the results of a High Court case.
As reported in the Newbury Weekly News, the club is taking on insurer Hiscox in a test case over lost revenue.
The club took the decision to close its Brownsfield Road clubhouse before the Government imposed lockdown and has taken a high financial blow.
Hiscox has said it will not pay out on its business disruption policy.
Club chairman Iain Cottingham said that the club’s policy with Hiscox had run out in April and the company had not amended it, despite the club making a claim in March.
The court case was heard in July and a decision is due in the middle of September.
Hiscox has announced that it has £340m in reserves for coronavirus claims and the company expects claims to be up to a maximum of £250m.
If successful, Thatcham is expecting a payout of around £20,000.
“I think it will definitely be a lesson learnt for the insurance industry,” Mr Cottingham said.
He said: “The policy was never intended for a pandemic, even though it says if closed down by a Government body. You can’t get higher than Boris saying you have to lockdown.
“It’s likely they didn’t anticipate there being a pandemic.
“They had an opportunity to change the wording, but they didn’t.”
Cricket resumed last month and Thatcham have played several matches since.
Mr Cottingham said the club had managed to reopen the bar and had more than 100 people attend the first game back, taking about £400 from refreshments.
A system has been put in place to assist with the Government’s Test and Trace operation.
People who go to games at Brownsfield Road or Henwick are registered on an encrypted system, which can be accessed if needed.