COVID -19 Financial Relief – Al Bourdeau Insurance Agency

The current emergency orders require most of us to “Stay-at-home”. For individuals and families, this can make it hard to pay bills, and impossible to work and earn an income. This also reduces the risk of automobile accidents, and we all agree that this reduction in risk should also reduce what we are paying for auto insurance.

We’ve reached out to our insurance companies and asked them what they can do to help our clients who are struggling as a result of the “stay-at-home” orders affecting nearly everyone.

We’re very impressed with insurance company responses to our question, and are happy to provide a summary of these responses below. Each insurer’s response is a little different, but tends to include some kind of:

reduction in the cost of auto insurance,
extension of due dates for payments,
waiving or elimination of late fees, and
putting a “hold” on cancellations for a short period of time

Any refund will be provided automatically by the insurance company without you asking. Other forms of relief may require you to contact us to request it. Please review our list below. The details may vary and we are just summarizing what the insurance companies tell us. If you have a specific question or request about your situation, we’re here to help. Please give us a call at 800-644-6030. We’ll be happy to discuss your options and any relief packages that are available. You can also check out our Customer Self-Service Options blog post for available billing, claims, roadside assistance, and policy document options. We will update this list as we obtain more information.

Summary From Each Insurance Company

Allied/Nationwide

Allied, which is a part of Nationwide Insurance, is offering a one-time premium refund of $50 per policy for personal auto policies active as of March 31, 2020. Due to COVID-19, Nationwide can suspend the cancellation of some policies, defer payment deadlines, and waive some late fees if asked.

https://blog.nationwide.com/news/nationwide-covid-19-refund/?utm_campaign=c19&utm_source=nwhp&utm_content=refundbanner

American Strategic Insurance

Starting April 1, 2020, ASI will waive late fees and hold off on canceling or non-renewing any active policies due to non-payment through May 15, 2020. Some states have already issued leniency guidelines, so ASI will adjust this timeline to either meet or exceed any state-specific requirements. Automatic payments will continue to go through unless you tell us to stop them.

https://www.americanstrategic.com/covid-19/

Auto Owners

Auto Owners Insurance will be providing a 15% premium refund for personal auto policies for the months of April and May. They may also be able to defer the minimum amount due, change your due date, change your payment plan or offer a payment extension if you contact us.

https://www.auto-owners.com/special-message1

Central Insurance

Central Insurance has placed a 60-day suspension on all cancellations for non-payment of premium and no late fees will be charged. Central also offers different payment plans if you would like to make any changes to better fit your current situation.

https://www.central-insurance.com/docs/coronavirus-covid-19.html

Chubb

Upon renewal, Chubb Insurance will be issuing a credit of on personal auto policy 35% for the months of April and May, with additional discounts for subsequent months, as the situation warrants. The average credit is expected to be $110 per vehicle, but this amount may vary. You will not have to request the credit as it will apply automatically to your renewal. They are also working with clients as events related to the Coronavirus impact the ability to pay policy premium. Please contact our agency if you need to request a billing exception or extension as this is not automatic.

https://news.na.chubb.com/home

Cincinnati

Cincinnati Insurance and Cincinnati Casualty personal lines auto policyholders will receive a 15% credit per policy on April and May premiums – pending regulatory approval. No action is required on your part to receive this discount.

Adding this Stay-at-Home credit supports the other actions Cincinnati Insurance has taken: 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 your communities. You will still need to contact our agency for any billing exceptions.

https://www.cinfin.com/covid-19

Citizens/Hanover

Citizens Insurance will be returning 15% of April and May auto premiums to personal lines customers through The Hanover CARES Refund. They are also offering flexibility on bill payment options for those experiencing financial hardship, without any penalties and fees, including placing a 60-day hold on cancellations and non-renewals for non-payment.

https://www.hanover.com/COVID-19/customers.html

Encompass

Encompass has a formula for calculating the refund amount, but on average, personal auto insurance customers will receive 15 percent money back based on their monthly premium in April and May. Customers will receive the money back through a credit to their Encompass account, bank account, or credit card on file, depending on how they make payments. Please check your payment information to make sure it is up to date. You can also request a special payment plan that delays payments with no penalty.

https://www.encompassinsurance.com/covid.aspx

Foremost

Foremost is extending a grace period for late payments until May 1, 2020. If a customer’s payment is late during this time, they will send a reminder bill with an extended due date (rather than a cancellation notice for non-payment). This process will happen automatically; there is no need to contact our agency to request an extension.

https://www.foremost.com/payonline/index.asp

Frankenmuth

Frankenmuth Insurance will be providing a 15% premium refund for April and May for personal auto policyholders. There is no action needed to receive the refund and it will be applied to policies in force as of April 30,2020. Vehicles included are automobiles, pickup trucks, and vans. The refund does not apply to automobiles in storage, antique vehicles, motorcycles, motor homes, trailers, and campers.

They are also extending the automatic grace period through Sunday, May 31, 2020, to all policies, for all our states of operation. If you are unable to pay your premium due to COVID-19, late fees are waived, and your policy will not be canceled for nonpayment. On May 31, 2020, a “pending cancellation” notice will alert you to the amount of premium due and will provide a new due date based on the rules in your state (typically 15 days).

https://www.fmins.com/coronavirus-covid19-response/

Grange

Grange Insurance is offering a 25% premium credit for the months of April and May to their personal auto policyholders. They are also suspending cancellations of policies due to nonpayment of premium. They will not issue late pay notices or charge late fees. This suspension will begin at 12:01 a.m. EDT on March 18, 2020, and end at 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 29, 2020. This is not a waiver of payments due during the suspension period, but an extension or grace period to pay premiums for those directly impacted by the circumstances surrounding COVID-19.

https://www.grangeinsurance.com/coronavirus

Hagerty

Payment deferral options may be requested if you are experiencing financial hardship. You may continue to receive billing invoices and payment reminders, however, your coverage will not be interrupted due to nonpayment.

https://www.hagerty.com/corporate/covid19

Hastings

Hastings Mutual will suspend cancellations of policies due to nonpayment of premium effective Monday, March 23, 2020, and ending Wednesday, April 22, 2020 in most states, and ending on later dates where state insurance departments have required longer grace periods.

https://www.hastingsmutual.com/Service-Changes-To-Support-You

FEMA – National Flood Insurance Program

Extension of Renewal Grace Period – To decrease the chance of a coverage lapse caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA is extending the 30-day grace period for receipt of the renewal payment after a policy’s expiration date. If a policy has an expiration date between February 13, 2020 and June 15, 2020, then the NFIP insurer must receive the appropriate renewal premium within 120 days of the expiration date to avoid a lapse in coverage.

Extension of Underpayment Grace Period – FEMA is extending the 30-day deadline to make an additional premium payment after receiving an underpayment notice. If a policyholder receives an underpayment notice dated between February 13, 2020 and June 15, 2020, then the NFIP insurer must receive the additional premium amount requested within 120 days of the date of the notice.

https://www.fema.gov/news-release/2020/03/29/fema-extends-grace-period-flood-insurance-renewal-premiums

MAIPF

The MAIPF has issued a moratorium on non-pay cancellations effective April 6, 2020 until May 1, 2020. As tof the end date of the moratorium, any uncollected premium that was due during the moratorium will be invoice appropriately.

https://www.maipf.org/

Progressive

If you have an active personal auto policy at the end of April, you’ll receive a credit for 20% of your April premium. Progressive will offer the same 20% credit to active personal auto customers at the end of May, and we may offer additional credits in the upcoming months.

Starting April 1, 2020, Progressive Insurance will also waive late fees, pause collections, and hold off on canceling or non-renewing any active policies due to non-payment through May 15, 2020. In the meantime, automatic payments will continue to go through unless you tell us to stop them. And after May 15th, any remaining balance on your policy will become due.

https://www.progressive.com/support/covid19/

Safeco

Safeco Insurance, which is part of Liberty Mutual Insurance, is offering their Personal Auto Customer Relief Refund, which will return an estimated $250 million to personal auto insurance customers. Personal auto insurance customers will receive a 15% refund on two months of their auto premiums, as of April 7, 2020, pending regulatory approval. The refunds will begin in April and will be issued either by check or in the manner you made your most recent payment. Safeco has automatically stopped charging late fees and have temporarily paused personal auto & home coverage cancellations due to non-payment from March 23 through May 22, 2020, or later as directed by your state.

https://www.safeco.com/covid-19

Wolverine

Wolverine Mutual is deferring payments, waiving late fees, and extending grace periods upon request. Please call us if you need to request a billing exception as these are not automatic.

We’re Here to Help

If you are experiencing financial hardship or have any questions regarding financial relief, please give us a call at 800-644-6030, message us on social media, or contact us through our website. We’ll be happy to discuss your options and any relief packages that are available. We’re here to help you every step of the way during this crisis.

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Robert H. Bourdeau

Without risk, there are no rewards.But when taking risks, it's important to ask "is it worth it?" Most of us are not good at evaluating risk. That's why I love insurance. When you get it, you realize that you have a tool for making choices. We can put ourselves out there, enjoy life and strive for personal and financial growth. When we fail, insurance gives us a way to recover financially, and we learn to be better. I'm a lifelong student with degrees in mathematics and computer science, a licensed insurance producer, and hold professional insurance designations including CPCU, CIC, and CRM.I enjoy distance running, bicycling, craft beers, cool people, and taking risks.