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| - French insurance giant Axa offered 300 million euros ($370 million) to some 15,000 restaurants fighting to have at least part of their losses due to Covid lockdowns covered by their policies. The proposal comes as Axa faces hundreds of lawsuits from restaurant owners accusing the insurer of trying to back out of its contractual obligations, putting their livelihoods at risk. Most lawsuits so far have been successful. "I'm sorry about all that has happened, because we were at odds with restaurants over a misunderstanding," Axa's chief executive Thomas Buberl told Europe 1 radio, noting that some appeals courts rulings had been in Axa's favour. "We're offering a settlement to lots of people who haven't asked for anything, even those who have lost in court will be able to be part of it," he said. But industry officials were not appeased, noting that the payout amounted on average to just 20,000 euros each, far below the losses reported by many owners. "This morning's proposals are not enough at all," said Roland Heguy, president of the UMIH hospitality union. "The first cases we won led to an average compensation of 150,000 euros per restaurant," he said. "This is not over." Didier Chenet of the GNI federation of independent restaurants and hotels, called the amount "derisory". "It only covers restaurant activities, but we have restaurant hotels with contracts covering their entire operations," he said, urging Axa to "negotiate genuine compensation". French restaurants were allowed to start serving patrons indoors on Wednesday for the first time since October. The government has unlocked billions of euros in aid for restaurants and other businesses forced to close in a bid to slow the spread of Covid-19. But industry officials say thousands of eateries are facing huge debt piles and the prospect of crimped revenues in the months to come, with capacity levels remaining capped for now and uncertainty remaining over how eager people will be to dine indoors again. Axa's clients sought relief via their policies that covered "administrative closures" for a variety of reasons, including health shutdowns. Axa has denied the claims, citing a clause specifying that any order had to apply only to the individual restaurant covered, which excluded closures due to a generalised health emergency. The company says some 1,500 suits have been filed, the first by the Parisian restaurateur Stephane Manigold, who obtained 70,000 euros in May 2020 to cover losses at his Michelin two-star Maison Rostang and three other restaurants. "This response is not compensation, it's a transaction," Buberl added, which would likely require anyone accepting the funds to drop outstanding litigation. "We want to accompany our restaurant clients during this reopening period, and it's important to put this difficulty behind us," he said. bt/js/cb/rl
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