Business

Business Insurance

COVID-19 Affect on your Business and Insurers’ Response/Financial Relief

Your Business Insurance team, at Northern Insurance Brokers, is here to help educate you on the impact COVID-19 has on your business insurance and to assist you with understanding the relief that may be available.

We act as your advocate, working with the Insurers to guide you through the process based on your business’s circumstances. Our goal is to continue to focus on your protection so you can get back to operating as normal.

Each Insurer has a unique relief program and as an Insurer’s approach to relief continues to evolve, we will monitor and update this site.

Common COVID-19 Insurance Impacts

We have outlined below common COVID-19 Insurance Impacts that we feel are most relevant to our Commercial Clients.

By selecting the areas of interest to you and submitting the form below, your Commercial Insurance contact will arrange a time to discuss these selected items with you. We will then determine a strategy that is tailored to your business needs.

Areas Impacted

Please select all that apply

Auto Insurance Relief:
Businesses who have changed the use of their vehicles due to COVID-19 may be able to reclassify their vehicle use which could result in a change to Auto Insurance rates and a possible returned premium/discount. This may impact you if you have only one vehicle, or if you have a fleet of vehicles. Example of changes in use can include; the vehicle is not being driven and is parked, or is no longer being used to commute to the office, or not being driven between business locations, or the business has adapted to use the vehicle for delivery of items.

Insurance Premium Payment Flexibility:
There are insurance companies who are offering flexibility on payment options for businesses whose operations and cash flow have been impacted by COVID-19. Examples of action can include; payment plan changes, deferral of payments, adjusting the withdrawal dates of monthly payment plans, waiving NSF Fees charged by the insurance company.

Change to your Business Operations:
Many businesses are not operating as normal given the COVID-19. They have been forced to refocus operations on new initiatives, adapt to new regulation or temporarily cease operations. It is important that we review the changes to your operations to determine any impact on your business’s protection based on the current coverage(s) and assess if the change creates a material change in risk to the insurance company. This can create a need for a policy change, adjusting the coverage(s) or rating information, possibly resulting in a return premium. Examples of changes to operations can include; manufacturing / selling new products, change to where your business property is located, a temporary shutdown of operations, reduced annual revenue / sales forecast, starting delivery of products or a new operation.

Cyber Risk Insurance:
Cyber Risk Insurance can offer protection for information/data that is either accidentally released, stolen by hackers, or gained by someone else through other methods, resulting in a lawsuit against your business. It may cover any damages and resulting legal bills, as well as expenses your business incurs to secure the information, notify individuals impacted and the lost profit to your business. With more employers having their employees work from home during COVID-19, to adjust to provincial regulation and best practice on social distancing, companies are at an increased exposure of having their information accessed. If you do not currently have Cyber Risk insurance, we strongly recommend you discuss with us the options available, as well as tips on simple risk management practices you can use to reduce your risk. Examples of common Cyber Risk claims include; an employee receives spam email and clicks on a link giving access to computer hackers who now have access to your system to either sell information or freeze access for ransom until a is paid, sensitive information is sent to the wrong clients that results in the need to notify and resulting in possible litigation, or a virus on your system causes destruction of data resulting in lost revenue.

Business Interruption Coverage:
This is typically an add-on to an existing business insurance property policy. It is designed to provide coverage in the event of a loss or damage to a business or damage to a neighbouring property, requiring the business to shut down. Business Interruption insurance covers continuing expenses or replaces lost profits. These policies require proof that your business location has sustained physical damage from a covered reason. Businesses that have been interrupted due to the pandemic may not have sustained any physical damage to your property and without physical damage to your property the coverage is generally not triggered. Examples of common Business Interruption claims includes; fire or water damage to your business.

Vacant or Unoccupied Locations:
With many businesses temporarily closed or ordered to shut down due to the COVID-19, it is important to note there are clauses under most business insurance policies that restrict coverage when a location is vacant or unoccupied. Many insurers have adjusted these clauses during the Declaration of Emergency period and it is important that we discuss how coverage may be impacted for your business. We would like to make a general reminder to maintain a reasonable level of care and maintenance including utilities and security systems at any of your locations.

Insurance Policy Renewal:
Algoma Insurance Brokers will continue to operate as an essential service and be here to work with you on your upcoming insurance policy renewal. We will discuss with you relevant information to have the best insurance plan to protect your business going forward. Many of the leading insurance companies who we work with, are adopting pricing strategies, to reflect the current situation with COVID-19, to provide relief to impacted industries.

General Discussion:
Other items where you many have questions that are specific to your business and current situation.

Contact Information

required information *

Business Name*(Required)

Contact Name*(Required)

First Last

Phone

*We will not sell or distribute your email address to any third party at any time. View our Privacy Policy.

Note: As we are addressing and developing an approach for each of our clients, this may result in a delayed response to clients' requests. We are working through requests on an individual basis and each plan is built specifically for you.

IMPORTANT: Coverage(s) cannot be changed by submitting a request, this requires confirmation from one of our licensed Insurance Brokers.

If you have a question about this submission or you would like us to contact you for any other issue, please indicate your request in the box below: