The Covid-19 Corona virus has greatly impacted our day to day life in New York state, and unfortunately one of the biggest impacts is to our wallets. As unemployment numbers are steadily increasing, more and more businesses are being deemed non-essential, forcing employees to work from home, or worse yet, not able to work at all, causing many people to experience financial hardship. Thankfully, Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of New York, has issued an executive order allowing the New York state Department of Financial Services, which is the governmental agency that oversees the Insurance Industry, to adopt emergency regulation which is meant to help alleviate financial hardships experienced by New York residents, as well as small businesses due to Covid-19. This emergency regulation prevents New York state regulated Insurance issuers of property and casualty insurance (insurance companies) from non-renewing, conditionally renewing, or more importantly canceling any policy held by a qualifying policyholder for sixty (60) days. This moratorium allows policyholders, who can demonstrate financial hardship due to Covid-19, to defer paying premiums without any penalties for that sixty day period.

You may be thinking, how do I demonstrate to my insurance company that I am experiencing financial hardship, how hard and long of a process is this going to be? Do not fret, the short answer is, call your agent. There are many reasons why you should have a local agent to handle your policies and this is a great example. Local agencies have great relationships with insurance companies and can sometimes handle this for you with something as simple as a phone call on your behalf. If on the off chance a company requires something in writing from you, we can help compose it for you and get it submitted promptly. Every company we have contacted here on behalf of our clients has been more than willing to work with and accommodate our insureds so do not hesitate to call us. If you have any questions about this payment assistance option, or need help during the process, please contact any of our locations.

By Nick Baldes