We call them ‘the offenders’: Umhlanga restaurateur Duncan Heafield on insurance giants

A deeply frustrated Duncan Heafield, owner of Bellézar Beach Café in Umhlanga, speaks to BizNews founder, Alec Hogg, about the bizarre state of affairs the hospitality industry has found itself in since the lockdown was imposed in March. Heafield has submitted claims against Santam, Old Mutual, Hollard and Guardrisk – referred to as 'the offenders'. All of these claims have been repudiated by 'the offenders', who are sticking to their guns that the lockdown was not caused by Covid-19, but rather that it was caused by the government. Having paid monthly premiums for business interruption insurance in excess of R8,500, Heafield cautions anyone considering taking up insurance to understand their policies very clearly and to ask the 'what if' questions. – Nadya Swart

Duncan Heafield is the owner of Bellézar Restaurant in Umhlanga in Durban. Duncan, you are on the rampage. Not surprisingly. You had business interruption insurance, which Santam is not paying. Now, we did interview the chief risk officer from Santam a couple of weeks ago and his view is that the insurance companies are not liable – the government is liable. Because Covid-19 isn't the reason why companies like yours have had to close, it's the government's lockdown. 

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