New York Waives Property and Casualty Insurance Premiums for Small Businesses

In keeping with New York Governor Cuomo’s Executive Order No. 202.13., the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) adopted an emergency regulation to provide relief for New York consumers and small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. The DFS regulation, among other things, requires New York State regulated issuers of property and casualty insurance to provide relief to consumers and small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 by allowing deferment of premiums for property and casualty insurance for sixty (60) days. Premium finance agencies are also required to provide relief by: (a) granting a 60-day grace period for property and casualty policies for the payment of installment payments under the premium financing agreement; (b) allowing installment payments due but not paid during the 60-day grace period to be paid over the course of the following year in 12 equal monthly installments; and (c) waiving any late payment fees, and not report late payments to credit rating agencies, during the 60-day grace period. The relief is available for businesses with 100 employees or less, independently owned and operated and resident in the State of New York.

The emergency amendments can be found at Section 405.6 of Title 3 and Part 229 of Title 11 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.