Narragansett Bay Insurance Company has been closely monitoring the guidance of the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control, as well as the requirements of federal and state authorities and industry regulators, during this COVID-19 pandemic. In March, NBIC successfully transitioned to a remote work environment and will continue working remotely until further notice. That said, there is no change in the way that our policyholders interact with our company; normal channels of communication remain unchanged for all NBIC operations.

Regulatory authorities in all states have requested insurers be reasonable and show leniency to customers financially impacted from unemployment and under-employment caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that some of our customers may experience a health-related or financial hardship making them unable to remit timely premium payments. We will consider every customer’s situation individually and apply flexibility. Customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic should contact NBIC’s Customer Service Department at 800-343-3375, option 3, with any specific requests.

The state has mandated (based on Executive Order No. 7S) that insurers provide a 60-day grace period for premium payments, cancellations, and non-renewals for certain COVID-19 affected policyholders between April 1, 2020 and June 1, 2020. The grace period applies to individuals who were laid off, furloughed, or fired from employment, or otherwise sustained a significant loss of revenue, as a result of COVID-19. Such individuals would be required to provide an affidavit or other acceptable statement to that effect. Normal underwriting and billing actions still apply as this Executive Order applies only to those impacted as a result of COVID-19.

This notice is being sent to all New Jersey policyholders as mandated by the state of New Jersey (based on Executive Order No.123 and Bulletin No. 20-15) that informs insureds of an insurer’s requirement to provide a 90-day grace period for premium payments, cancellations, and non-renewals for certain COVID-19 affected policyholders beginning on May 1, 2020 (or retroactively selected to April 1, 2020). The grace period would apply for individuals who were laid off, furloughed, or fired from employment, or otherwise sustained a significant loss of revenue, as a result of COVID-19. Such individuals would be required to provide an affidavit or other acceptable statement to their insurer to that effect. Normal underwriting and billing actions still apply as this Executive Order applies only to those impacted as a result of COVID-19.

This notice is being sent to all New York policyholders through April 28, 2020 (subject to extension) as required by Order No. 202.13 by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. The order requires insurers to allow customers impacted economically by COVID-19 to defer up to 60-days of payments that would otherwise be due and re-spread those payments across up to 12 months. To qualify for an accommodation, a policyholder must contact NBIC’s Customer Service Department (800-343-3375, option 3) to attest to the hardship. The order also imposes a 60 day moratorium on cancellations, non-renewals, or conditional non-renewals for policyholders facing financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Normal underwriting and billing actions still apply to insureds not financially impacted by the pandemic.

Any customer affected by the COVID-19 pandemic who would like to request a billing accommodation should contact NBIC’s Customer Service Department at 800-343-3375, option 3. NBIC is well-positioned to support our policyholders during these challenging times. Our company prides itself on exceptional service and that is what you can continue to expect from the NBIC team.