Keeping promises made to Main Street, ensuring fairness for all customers.

During crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans know they can rely on insurers to act as “financial first responders,” providing relief and economic stability.

• Insurers have offered payment relief and more than $14 billion in premium paybacks on auto insurance.
• Under workers compensation policies, insurers are covering healthcare workers and first responders facing COVID-19 exposure.
• Insurers are covering commercial general liability, business owners, and commercial auto policies for restaurants that provide take-out and delivery services.

A pandemic impacts all lines of insurance at once.

The losses stemming from such an event were never intended to be protected by a business interruption policy. Only the federal government has the financial wherewithal to cover pandemic risks.

For this reason, insurers have united to recommend the pursuit of a COVID-19 Business and Employee Continuity and Recovery Fund →

Language concerning pandemic and communicable disease risk is indisputable.

Commercial property insurance policies that include business interruption require the losses to be caused by direct physical damage to the property, which is not the case with a virus such as COVID-19.

Forcing insurers to pay uncovered pandemic claims retroactively is not only unconstitutional — it would cost insurers nearly $400 billion per month.

Requiring insurers to pay out restaurants would be unfair to other policyholders who already paid to have their claims insured.

This would threaten the ability of the industry to serve policyholders and lead to the insolvency of the industry.