Advocacy; Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Big I NY has asked the Department of Financial Services for two amendments to the current emergency insurance regulation, which imposes a moratorium on cancellations and non-renewals, and grants a 12-month grace period for repayment of premiums, for policyholders suffering hardship due to COVID-19.  We expect the emergency regulation will be amended or re-issued prior to its expiration on June 28th, since the governor has ordered that the cancellation moratorium and grace period provisions remain in effect until July 6th (a detailed discussion of the reason for the two different dates follows). We have asked the DFS to: Remove the requirement that producers notify customers of the…

​The Issue: The issue of the applicability of business interruption coverage has become one of the most hotly discussed insurance issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is well-established that for virtually every commercial business interruption policy, there is no coverage for losses related to COVID-19. In response, both Congress and the New York State Legislature are currently considering legislation that would retroactively require insurers to cover losses related to COVID-19. We believe these proposals are misguided and would have catastrophic consequences. On the Federal level, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R, Pennsylvania) has sponsored the “Never Again Small Business Protection Act" that would require every commercial…

We are pleased to announce that following our recent letter to the Department of Financial Services calling for a number of regulatory relief measures, the Department has informed us that it will soon be announcing new accommodations relating to the auto photo inspection requirement (Insurance Regulation 79) In recent weeks, Big I NY has called on the DFS to take a multitude of actions to reduce financial and regulatory burdens on the state's insurance consumers in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these requests have been granted, such as premium payment leniency, accommodations for CE and license renewal, and significant flexibility in customer notification requirements. We've got your back. Stay tuned for more…