You may have seen the announcements from many insurance companies announcing that they are offering an insurance refund or a credit for their customers due to the COVID-19 crisis. We’re happy to say, it’s true! In fact, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara has issued an order for insurance companies to do just that. What does that mean for you? How much of a refund will you get? Well, it’s all in the details, of course.
The announcement from Commissioner Lara applies to at least the months of March & April, and may even include the month of May, if the stay-at-home restrictions continue. The statement applies to personal auto policies & some commercial insurance lines of business for autos, workers compensation, & others.
The commissioner has asked the insurance companies to provide a “premium credit, reduction, return of premium,or other appropriate premium adjustment as soon as possible, and no later than August 2020.” Remember this will be only for the months mentioned above, not for the entire year. It won’t be your full premium either, the insurance refund credit will be a percentage of your premium for the months mentioned.
Will you receive a credit to your existing bill? Or will you receive an insurance refund check? Most likely this may depend on how you pay your insurance premiums. Do you pay them in full for the full policy term or do you pay monthly? If you pay monthly, you’ll probably see the insurance refund credit applied to any outstanding balance. If you’ve already paid the insurance policy term in full, you’ll probably get an insurance refund in the same method as the original payment. How much of a credit or adjustment will you receive on your auto insurance premium? This will depend on your which insurance company insures your vehicles. Several of the insurance companies have been sending emails or letters to their clients notifying them of the coming adjustment to their policies. As a policy holder, you typically won’t have to do anything extra, it will happen automatically. You can also check your insurance companies website to view their COVID-19 announcement & how they are handling the insurance refund credit or giveback to their policy holders.
We are also happy to see the insurance companies helping clients with special payment arrangements because of the COVID-19 crisis. If you need help with paying your insurance payment, don’t hesitate to reach out to the billing department of your insurance company or to your insurance agent for assistance in contacting them.
Like all of you, we will be so happy when this crisis is over & life gets back to normal. If you are looking for some more stay-at-home fun ideas, check out our post here: https://www.ranchocalinsurance.com/bored-stuck-at-home-fun-ideas-to-keep-you-busy/
For even more details, you can view Commissioner Lara’s announcement here: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/0400-news/0100-press-releases/2020/release038-2020.cfm
If you’ve got questions about your home, auto, or business insurance, give us a call. We’re here to help!
