COVID-19 P&C Insurance Questions For Employers

Cytron Group LLC has put together a list of questions, concerns, issues, etc. that an employer may want to address with its trusted insurance advisor. Cytron Group LLC is not a brokerage firm and does not provide coverage advice at this time.

These are questions collated from discussions we have had with concerned clients, brokers, and friends who are likwise trying to navigate their businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not all of the bullet points below will apply to your industry or unique situation. However, we hope that you may find many of them helpful to initiate useful dialogue and better protect your organization, from an insurance perspective, for the ever changing business environment.

The first section contains general insurance questions, and subsequent sections are specific to various lines of insurance.

Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have, and we'll direct you to appropriate experts and resources.

General Questions For Your Broker

• Regarding COVID-19, are you reviewing my policies and provisions for any areas of concern we should focus? 

• Regarding COVID-19, are there endorsements, exclusions, provisions, limits, etc. I should be aware of in my policies?

• (If renewing in the near future) Are there going to be any major changes to renewal pricing, coverage, policy terms, etc. I should be aware of due to COVID-19?

• Is my insurance carrier/s offering any discounts or payment relief for COVID-19?

• How can I protect myself from a supply chain disruption or breakdown?

• What is Umbrella Insurance? Do I need it? How do we determine how much to buy?

• Is there anything I should be aware of regarding Letters Of Credit for my captive or large deductible programs? 

• If I repurposed operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, will my underwriter reprice any of my programs due to new exposures?  

• What is our renewal strategy this year? Are we going to stay put?Or, are we going to shop our insurance program?

Workers’ Compensation

• If my employee has contracted COVID-19, will my workers’ compensation policy provide coverage?

• Will claims related to COVID-19 be included in my experience modification rate?

Commercial Property

• Are there endorsements or exclusions in my property policy that specifically address COVID-19?

Auto

• Any steps we should take if we have a fleet that’s been idle for a month or two with little or no exposure to the insurer?

Business Interruption

• Do I have Business Interruption/Business Income coverage for losses related to COVID-19?

• What does a business income policy normally cover? Is loss due to virus or bacteria an exclusion?

• What is “Contingent BI?”

• What policy would cover losses caused by a supplier being unable to provide necessary supplies? 

Property Policy

• Does my property policy have coverage for contingent business interruption?

• Will my property policy cover contamination at my job site caused by coronavirus?

General Liability

• What do I do if someone claims to have suffered bodily injury, property damage or other COVID-19-related losses as a result of my business? 

Management Liability / Directors & Officers Liability

• Could my management liability coverage be activated by employees quarantined or unable to work and seeking accommodations or leaves of absence?

• Could a Directors and Officers (D&O) claim arise out of COVID-19?

• If we had to suspend funding or modify the company’s retirement plan during the COVID-19 pandemic, could any new exposures be created? 

Professional Liability

• Do we need Professional Liability?

Stuart Cytron, MBA has been published in trade journals such Construction Forum St. Louis and St. Louis Business Journal among others. You can read more about Stuart and how he developed a passion for helping businesses reduce work comp expenses on his website.