By now, you’ve likely heard stories about how the insurance industry is responding to the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak. But how do you separate fact from fiction? And how do you know the impact these changes will have on you specifically?
That’s what we’re aiming to accomplish with this article. Unfortunately, there’s no roadmap for this type of pandemic situation. And therefore, there’s no ‘one size fits all’ approach or solution for insurance companies to adopt. So our goal is to provide you with a comprehensive breakdown of what many insurance companies are offering/providing to their clients during these difficult times.
And to start, a quick note on how your premium is determined: insurance companies set rates based on how much risk is involved, using historical data to make those calculations. But since mid-March 2020, most of the country’s business sector has come to a halt due to the spread of the corona virus. Data trends show that as fewer vehicles are on the road due to the suspension of nonessential travel, fewer accidents are occurring. As a result, insurance companies are stepping up to help customers through this tough time.
Below is a summary of what insurance companies are doing for policyholders – whether it’s Insurance refunds, special bill-pay options and more. This list is not all inclusive, but we will be adding to and updating the list going forward, as more information becomes available.
- Auto Owners: Will be providing a 15% return of auto premium for the months of April and May, pcending regulatory approval. In order to be eligible for a Insurance refunds, a vehicle must have bodily injury coverage. The Insurance refunds will automatically apply and the policyholder will not need to take any action. Refunds are expected to occur during the month of May. The customers Insurance refunds will be applied to any outstanding balance on their billing account. Any remainder will be returned via check or their automatic payment method. If policyholders want to keep track of their Insurance refunds, they can log in or sign up at their Customer Center auto-owners.com.
- Celina Insurance: Personal Lines policies whose vehicle usage has changed from “Drive to Work” to “Pleasure” can be amended during this time, providing immediate premium relief. This change can be automatically processed through Agent Connect or by calling Celina directly. This guideline applies to personal vehicles written in their Personal Lines and Farm programs. They have relaxed Personal Lines underwriting guidelines for individuals using their vehicles for the temporary delivery of food during this time. They are providing coverage for this exposure while restaurant dining is restricted. In addition, they will discuss specific situations regarding premium due and can be contacted at: 1-800-552-5181.
- Central Insurance: Has committed to suspending cancellations for non-payment of insurance premiums and are allowing customers to modify coverage in ways to better reflect the current situation that clients are facing.
- Chubb Personal Lines: Upon renewal, clients will receive a credit reflecting a 35% premium reduction for the months of April and May, with additional discounts for subsequent months, as the situation warrants. They instituted flexible premium payment options and a renewal credit averaging $110 per vehicle to reflect reductions in driving habits. Provisions for additional living expenses have been temporarily extended for those in midst of homeowner claims where repairs have been delayed due to the pandemic. Their claims team remains fully staffed, and dedicated representatives available 24/7 to handle incoming calls and customer inquiries and they can perform virtual inspections.
- Chubb Commercial Lines: U.S. small business clients whose policies renew between April 1 and August 1, 2020 will receive an automatic 25% reduction in the sales and payroll exposures used to calculate their premium as well as a 15% reduction in premiums for their commercial auto insurance. They will temporarily suspended policy cancellations for commercial clients who cannot pay their premiums on time due to the pandemic. They will provide automatic exposure reductions to help support retail U.S. small business clients. Their claims team remains fully staffed, and dedicated representatives available 24/7 to handle incoming calls and customer inquiries and they can perform virtual inspections.
- Cincinnati Insurance Personal Lines: Will be providing a 15%credit per policy on April and May auto premiums – pending regulatory approval. No action is required of policyholders to receive the credit. In addition, they will be pausing cancellations due to nonpayment of premium and waiving late fees until at least April 30; and waiving restrictions on policyholders now performing delivery services in efforts to protect the wellbeing of their communities. For more information, please visit cinfin.com/covid-19. They are suspending all agency bill cancellations due to nonpayment from March 16 to June 28. This does not apply to personal lines direct-bill policies. If you are struggling to make your payments, please contact Personal Lines Billing at: 1-888-242-8811, Ext. 2002
- Cincinnati Insurance Commercial Lines: Will NOT be invoking the Loss Condition pertaining to Vacancy in commercial property policies in circumstances where a business operation has been temporarily suspended as a result of a governmental order closing all non-essential business during the COVID-19 outbreak. For tips on how to safely shut down a facility, please visit cinfin.com/covid-19/loss-control/shutting-down-your-facility. They will be suspending all commercial property casualty cancellations due to nonpayment from March 16 to June 28. If you are struggling to make your payments, please contact at Corporate billing (CinciBill) at: 1-877-942-2455.
- Cincinnati Life & Health: Extending all life, disability and long-term care insurance grace periods to 60 days for premiums due between May 31 and June 30. This is in addition to the prior offering of 90-day grace periods for premiums that were due between March 16 and May 31. If you are struggling to make your payments, please contact Life Insurance Billing at: 1-800-783-4479.
- Encova Insurance Personal Lines: Will be issuing a 15% Insurance refunds to personal auto policy holders during the months of April and May, who remain insured as of May 31, 2020. No additional action is required by policyholders to receive credit. Credit will be applied directly to their bill, or if a policyholder has already paid in full, they will be issued a check. In addition, they will suspend cancellation of all policies for non-payment of premium until May 29, 2020. This extension is not a waiver of payments due during the suspension period, but an extension or grace period for premium payments during this time.
- Encova Insurance Commercial Lines: They will suspend cancellation of all policies for non-payment of premium until May 15, 2020. This extension is not a waiver of payments due during the suspension period, but an extension or grace period for premium payments during this time.
- The Hartford: Will be issuing a 15% refund on two months’ worth of premium for all customers with an in-force personal auto policy as of 4/1/2020. In addition, for customers having financial difficulty, they will be waiving late-payment fees and cancellations for non-payment, which applies to personal auto and home policies until May 31.
- Grange Insurance Personal Lines: Will be returning a portion of premium to all personal auto policyholders in the form of a 25% Insurance refunds for the months of April and May based upon the premium that was in effect at the end of March. New business policies written in the months of April or May will also receive a 25% payback that will be prorated for the time they are in effect during this period. Clients will receive their payback via check mailed to their billing address sometime in May. New customers (April or May starts) will receive their checks in June.
- Grange Insurance Commercial Lines: Will be providing Business Owners Policy (BOP) customers a 20% payback for the months of April and May, pending regulatory approval. Grange will issue their payment based on BOP policies active in the months of April and May based on the premium that was in effect at the end of March. Clients will receive their payback via check mailed to their billing address in May and new customers (April or May starts) will receive their checks in June. In addition, they are extending their temporary coverage expansion for restaurants through June 30, 2020 and temporarily suspending enforcement of their Vacancy Provision for Commercial Property clients.
- Liberty Mutual / Safeco Insurance: Will be receiving a 15% refund on two months of auto premium, based on the premium amount as of April 7, 2020. In addition, they will be waving a late fee for any customer unable to make a payment due to COVID-19.
- Nationwide Insurance: Is offering a one-time premium refund of $50 per policy for personal auto policies active as of March 31, 2020. Customers don’t need to do anything. Insurance refunds will automatically be credited to the customers’ most recent method of payment (automatic withdrawal, credit card, personal check) within the next 30 days.
- Ohio Mutual Insurance: Will be offering all personal auto policyholders in all states with an in-force policy as of May 31, 2020 a premium credit of 25%. The credit will be applied during the impacted period of March 16 – May 31, 2020. The details of this plan will be distributed to all personal auto policyholders via email or postcard over the next several weeks and will be applied beginning the first week of June. Policies whose remaining premium balance due is less than the credit, or those that have been fully paid, will receive a check for the amount of the credit, less any policy balance. New auto policies with effective dates between 3/16/2020 – 5/31/2020 will receive a pro-rated credit, based on the number of in-force days within the relief period. For the full details, you can view their press release here.
- Progressive: Personal auto customers who have a policy in force as of April 30th will be credited 20% of their April premiums in May, and personal auto customers with a policy in force as of May 31st will be credited 20% of their May premiums in June.
- State Auto: Offering a one-time 5% discount for the entire next policy term for every State Auto customer with a Connect or Legacy personal auto policy in force as of June 1, 2020. They are also offering every State Auto Connect Personal Auto policyholder the option to enroll in their State Auto Safety 360® telematics program, which includes an immediate 10% discount. Customers can earn up to 50% off their premium at renewal by demonstrating safe driving practices. Their Safety 360 program also rewards drivers who drive less, which means drivers can earn discounts even while staying at home during the COVID-19 crisis.
- Travelers: Has implemented the Stay-at-Home Auto Premium Credit Program providing U.S. personal auto insurance customers to receive a 15% credit on their April and May premiums. They have suspended cancellations and nonrenewals of coverage due to nonpayment through May 15, 2020. They will not charge interest, late fees or penalties during this period, providing policyholders extra time to pay their premiums without risking cancellation.
- Westfield Insurance: Adhering to ‘stay at home’ orders to help prevent the community spread of the coronavirus, recent trends show people driving fewer miles. Westfield is seeing a decrease in personal auto claims and will be offering relief on a portion of the premiums paid on personal auto policies to help customers during this unprecedented time. As a result, they created their Personal Relief for Personal Insurance Auto Customers, which will provide a 15% credit of their eligible monthly auto premium for the months of April, May, and June 2020. Customers with an active Personal Auto policy as of April 30, 2020, will receive the full credit to their account in the month of May 2020 and Westfield will be taking care of all the details. New personal lines customers will also receive the same 15% personal auto monthly credit as existing customers for each new eligible policy effective between May 1 and June 30, 2020. The Credit will be applied to their account in August (2 months credit for business effective in May and 1-month credit for business effective in June). If they pay in full – then they will receive a check. As with current customers, new customers don’t have to do a thing, this is an automatic process. Policyholders who were in a “pending cancel” status on March 20, 2020 will be sent a new billing statement with the full past due balance owed within 15 days (due by June 30, 2020). They are allowing these policyholders a “fresh” start on the pending cancel process. Policyholders who were >90 days past due at March 20, 2020 and have made no payments since that date will have to pay the entire past due balance by July 31, 2020 to avoid cancellation. They will suspend the policyholder cancellations and waive late fees until July 31, 2020. The normal pending cancel process will occur on August 1, 2020. For all other past due accounts, they will continue the suspension of policyholder cancellations and continue to waive late fees until September 30, 2020 if the customer pays 25% of the May bill by July 31, 2020 and pays 50% of June bill by August 31, 2020. On September 30, 2020, all remaining past due balances are due and the normal payment processes will be restored. In addition, Westfield continues to offer billing solutions to help customers with financial hardships.
- Wayne Insurance: Is assisting policyholders with billing and payment issues, including adjusting billing due dates and policy cancellations due to nonpayment of premium. They are also spreading past due amounts over the remaining billing installments in the term and waiving any associated service fees or reinstatement fees. In addition, they are issuing a 15% credit on two months of policy premiums. No additional action is required of customers, as all policyholders who are active as of May 31, 2020 will receive a billing credit on their next invoice or a check will be issued to those who have already paid in full. Policyholders who have been financially impacted in some way by this situation are encouraged to call their customer service team at 1-800-222-3873 ext. 2. They are ready to help with billing and payment issues.
While we recognize there’s likely no Insurance refunds, discount or bill pay flexibility that’s going to relieve the hardship and heartache so many are suffering during these difficult times, we do hope these small actions when combined with other industries that are showing sensitivity and empathy given what’s happening in our world, will together help make a meaningful impact.
As always, we stand ready to help our clients and communities in any way we can. Stay safe.