Monday newspaper round-up: Insurers, petrol cars, Post Office

Eight months since the UK coronavirus lockdown forced the temporary closures of restaurants, bars, shops, hairdressers and other small businesses, thousands who are still awaiting payouts from their insurers to cover lost income will hope a supreme court hearing will result in a ruling that favours about 200,000 policyholders. Most have not received a penny despite having business interruption insurance, a key part of commercial policies which is supposed to pay out if a firm cannot trade as usual owing to an unexpected event. - Guardian

Boris Johnson is understood to be planning to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars within a decade, with reports that the ban will be brought forward by five years. It follows the prime minister moving the cut-off date from 2040 to 2035 in February. - Guardian

Billionaire Fred Done is backing a £2.9bn takeover bid for William Hill by Las Vegas casino operator Caesars Entertainment. The betting tycoon, William Hill’s biggest investor, will back the swoop when it is put to a shareholder vote on Thursday, according to sources close to the businessman. Caesars struck a deal with the William Hill board in September after US private equity fund Apollo tabled a competing bid. - Telegraph

The historic, centuries-long link between the Royal Mail and the nation’s network of post offices is set to come to an end as negotiations begin that could lead to the state-owned Post Office handling the packages of rival delivery firms such as Amazon. The Post Office is understood to be going through the process of freeing itself from exclusive obligations to handle Royal Mail post and parcels. - The Times

Britain’s valuers have come under fire in recent years for valuing stores and shopping centres too optimistically. Warning signs of rising numbers of empty shops, retailer insolvencies and online competition were there for years before some landlords reported sharp valuation declines. - The Times