Following a series of procedural developments, the Commercial Court has confirmed the listing for the Preliminary Issue Trial in the joined legal actions against NFU Mutual (The National Farmers Union Mutual Insurance Society Limited).
The trial, which addresses claims brought by the following joined claimant groups, is scheduled for the week of 9–13 November 2026:
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Innventure Limited and others v NFU Mutual (Case No: CL-2023-000589)
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South Farm Limited and others v NFU Mutual (Case No: CL-2024-000309)
Purpose of the Preliminary Issue Trial
The court has directed a trial of “Preliminary Issues” to resolve the fundamental legal questions arising from the 19 December 2025 Case Management Conference.
These issues will determine the foundation of the insurer’s liability and include:
- Policy Interpretation: Determining whether government lockdown measures constitute an “incident” under the terms of the policies.
- Expansion of Liability: Assessing “Additional Increased Cost of Working” (AICOW) provisions, including potential additional £50,000 limits for expenses.
- Reasonableness of Withheld Consent: Evaluating the defendant’s conduct in withholding consent for business recovery expenses.
Trial Schedule and Allocation
In line with Commercial Court practice for matters of this complexity, the time is expected to be structured as follows:
Monday, 9 November – Tuesday, 10 November (Morning): Period reserved for judicial pre-reading. This is a standard procedural phase where the judge reviews the extensive written evidence and legal arguments in private to ensure the oral hearing can proceed efficiently.
Tuesday, 10 November (Afternoon): The substantive hearing is scheduled to commence. This marks the point at which the court sits in public and oral arguments are formally presented.
11 November – 13 November: Oral submissions continue, with a scheduled conclusion no later than midday on Friday.
Context of the Listing
The litigation was formally joined and directed toward a preliminary trial following the December 2025 hearing before Mr Justice Bryan.
While there had been hopes that the trial might be heard during the Trinity legal term (June–July 2026), the case has now been listed for the Michaelmas term in November.
Data Transparency and Limitation Concerns
A central point of alarm surrounding this litigation remains the delays in the matter coming before the court and total number of businesses potentially affected by the insurer’s denial of COVID-19 business interruption claims, if that was indeed wrongfully done by the defendant.
To date, NFU Mutual has not disclosed, despite requests for clarity in various regulatory and reporting contexts, the total number of policies sold containing the specific wordings under dispute, nor has it provided a figure for how many businesses had claims declined.
There have been significant concerns expressed by stakeholders across the industry and within Parliament regarding the time taken to bring these matters to trial.
Specifically, trade bodies representing over 150,000 businesses recently petitioned the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to intervene as the six-year limitation deadline (March 2026) approaches.
Concerns have been raised that the prolonged nature of the litigation could effectively “run down the clock,” potentially causing thousands of small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) to be timed out of their right to claim before the underlying legal principles are fully resolved.
NFU Mutual Class Action
