Businesses suffering a loss from Microsoft outage could have grounds for insurance claim, lawyer says
Following a global Microsoft outage, legal experts suggest that businesses may be able to recover losses through 'business interruption' insurance policies. While direct claims against Microsoft are considered difficult, experts advise companies to review their risk management and contingency planning.
Why it matters
As businesses become increasingly dependent on cloud infrastructure, understanding liability and insurance coverage for digital outages is essential for financial resilience.
While the economic impact of the global Microsoft outage could be in the billions, a lawyer says businesses may have a chance to get their money back through insurance.
The outage affected Microsoft 365, a cloud-based subscription service popular for applications like Outlook, Copilot, and Teams. On Saturday morning, the company confirmed the technical problems were finally easing .
Barrister John Gibbered, who specialises in insurance law, said businesses whose insurance policies include "business interruption" could well have a claim with their insurer.
"Business interruption is when an unexpected or unforeseen occurs which prevents a business from carrying out its normal activities.
"As a result of the interruption, the business suffers a loss."
Making a claim to Microsoft would be more difficult, he said.
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