| "The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) today adopted an emergency regulation requiring New York State regulated issuers of life insurance and annuity contracts, property and casualty insurers and premium finance agencies to provide relief to New York consumers and businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. - Consumers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 may defer paying life insurance premiums for ninety (90) days.
- Consumers and small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 may defer paying premiums for property and casualty insurance for sixty (60) days.
- Premium finance agencies are required to provide the same relief as insurers. Certain producers must notify insureds of this emergency measure pursuant to the regulation.
REQUIRED ACTIONUPDATE (4/9/2020 at 3:48pm): Following a request from Big I New York, the New York State Department of Financial Services today said that insurance producers are not required to use U.S. Mail to send policyholder notices about a current moratorium on policy terminations. For more information, read more. Producers are allowed to send the required COVID-19 premium payment rule notices to clients by email, regardless of whether the clients have given prior consent. This will relieve them of the requirement to mail or deliver such notices. Guidance is available on DFS's website. For more info, read more.
NYS DFS is requiring producers to notify insureds of the emergency regulation's cancellation rules. The deadline for sending these notices is Monday, April 13, 2020. Big I New York, with Keidel, Weldon, and Cunningham, LLP, have developed this sample wording for you to use in your notices. What you need to do (as of 4/13/2020, at 5:00pm): Notify policyholders (individuals and small businesses that are independently owned and operated and have 100 or less employees) of the cancellation policy and grace period set forth in the emergency regulation. You may send a notice via email for all insureds you have an email address for (regardless of whether clients have given prior consent). Website posting and social media can be used in addition to this to get the word out.ut. By when: Monday, April 13, 2020 We have your back: We have worked with our trusted E&O legal team at Keidel, Weldon and Cunningham, LLP to craft a template letter for you to use to comply. Download and customize it here. |