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- PPP Loan Deadline May Be Extended as SBA Issues New Rules Relating to Loan Forgiveness and Eligibility
- California Looks to Pass Legislation Concerning Business Interruption Coverage Due to COVID-19
June 29, 2020
June 22, 2020
- PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Forms Updated and Streamlined
- Nevada Division of Insurance to Disallow Policy Exclusions Related to COVID-19
- CDI Announces New Order Regarding Workers’ Compensation Premium Savings for CA Businesses Affected by COVID-19
june 15, 2020
june 10, 2020
- Note to the SBA: Debtors in Bankruptcy Are Eligible for PPP Loans
- California Modifies the Tolling of Statutes of Limitations in Civil Cases
june 8, 2020
June 4, 2020
may 29, 2020
may 28, 2020
may 27, 2020
- Hoteliers Beware: a Return to Business Post-Pandemic Brings With It Potential Legal Liability
- House Contemplates Revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program
may 15, 2020
may 14, 2020
- U.S. House Democrats Introduce HEROES Act, a New $3T Stimulus Package
- SAFE Banking Act for Cannabis-Related Businesses Included in the HEROES Act
may 12, 2020
may 8, 2020
- Treasury and the SBA Issue Guidance Regarding the Employee Retention Credit
- Businesses Reopen in Los Angeles County as Stage 2 of California’s Statewide Plan Begins
- Update: Large Employers Required to Pay Coronavirus-Related Sick Leave Under New L.A. County Ordinance
may 6, 2020
- SBA Extends PPP Certification Safe Harbor to May 14
- EPLI Insurance and Employee Benefits in the Age of the Coronavirus
may 5, 2020
- Update: PPP Guidance Issued by the SBA and U.S. Treasury at Odds With the CARES Act—Michelman & Robinson Files First-of-Its-Kind Lawsuit Challenging FAQs
- NAIC Issues Business Interruption Data Call in the Wake of COVID-19
may 4, 2020
may 1, 2020
april 29, 2020
- Planning for Your Employees' Return to the Workplace
- Los Angeles Hospitality Workers Among Those Thrown a Potential Lifeline
april 24, 2020
- Attention Cannabis Businesses: Hope May Be on the Horizon for Federal COVID-19-Related Relief
- California Department of Insurance Issues Notice Granting Tax-Filing Extension in Response to COVID-19
- SEC Approves Amendments to Nasdaq and NYSE Continued Listing Requirements Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 23, 2020
april 21, 2020
- Additional Funding Is on the Way to Resurrect the PPP
- Certifying Your PPP Loan: Proceed With Caution
april 17, 2020
april 16, 2020
- Employment in the Wake of Coronavirus: EEOC and OSHA Guidance Allows Employers to Go Where They Could Not Go Before
- New Yorkers Ordered to Stay at Home Even Longer Amid the COVID-19 Crisis
- Paycheck Protection Program Funds Exhausted
april 15, 2020
April 14, 2020
- Insurance Companies Have Been Ordered to Provide COVID-19-Related Premium Relief to Businesses and Drivers in California
- What to Do If Your New York Business Has Been Deemed Non-Essential
APRIL 13, 2020
- IP Deadlines and Fees Extended Under the CARES Act
- Employment in the Wake of Coronavirus: Reintegrating Your Workforce in the New Normal
APRIL 10, 2020
- You Successfully Applied for and Received a PPP Loan Under the CARES Act: Now What?
- Safer at Home Order in L.A. Extended to May 15
- Maintaining Your Trade Secrets During the Coronavirus Crisis
APRIL 9, 2020
april 8, 2020
- Congress Looks to Bolster the PPP With Another $250B in Funding
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- L.A. Mayor Amends COVID-19-Related Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
april 7, 2020
April 3, 2020
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april 1, 2020
March 31, 2020
march 30, 2020
- Large Employers Required to Pay Coronavirus-Related Sick Leave Under New L.A. Ordinance
- Insurance Coverage Potentially Triggered by COVID-19
- Attention Insurers: CDI Orders Mandatory Call for Business Interruption Coverage Information in the Wake of COVID-19
- DOL Is Requiring Employers to Post Families First Employee Rights Notice
March 27, 2020
- A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Coronavirus-Related State Assistance Programs: Who is Giving What to Whom (Part II)
- HHS Relaxing Enforcement of HIPAA to Facilitate Sharing of Information During the COVID-19 Crisis
March 26, 2020
march 25, 2020
march 24, 2020
- Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic: a Critical Business Review Checklist
- SBA Loans for Companies Impacted by Coronavirus
- SEC Relaxes Federal Proxy Rules for Annual Meetings
march 23, 2020
- Federal Reserve Responds Boldly to Coronavirus-Related Economic Downturn
- The Number of Jurisdictions Implementing Stay-at-Home Orders Is Increasing Exponentially
- Michelman & Robinson’s Guide to Coronavirus-Related Paid Sick Leave and Unemployment Insurance Laws in the Tri-State Area
MARCH 21, 2020
MARCH 20, 2020
- New York Governor’s PAUSE Order
- Illinois Governor’s Statewide Stay-at-Home Order
- Force Majeure Clauses in Commercial Real Estate Contracts
MARCH 19, 2020
- SEC Provides Regulatory Relief for Public Reporting Companies
- Student Loan Borrowers Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief, At Least Temporarily
- California Governor's Statewide Stay-At-Home Order
MARCH 18, 2020
- "Shelter in Place" Orders
- Telecommuting in the Age of Coronavirus
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act Just Passed by the Senate and Signed Into Law by the President
MARCH 17, 2020
MARCH 16, 2020
MARCH 5, 2020
California Insurance Commissioner Extends Order for Insurers to Partially Refund Premiums
DAVID HAUGE
MAY 15, 2020
This is an update to Michelman & Robinson's previous report about California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s bulletin (Bulletin 2020-3) to insurance companies requiring the return of premiums to businesses and consumers in an effort to provide financial relief during the coronavirus crisis. By way of a new bulletin (Bulletin 2020-4) issued today (May 15, 2020), Commissioner Lara has extended his prior mandate directed at all admitted and non-admitted property and casualty and workers’ compensation carriers doing business in California. M&R explains the scope of Commissioner Lara’s updated directive here.
Q. What is the purpose of the commissioner’s latest bulletin (Bulletin 2020-4)?
A. Today’s bulletin (1) clarifies what is required of insurance carriers under Bulletin 2020-3, issued April 13, 2020, and (2) extends the relevant time period for that previous bulletin.
Q. What did the prior premium-related bulletin (Bulletin 2020-3) call for?
A. By virtue of local and statewide stay-at-home orders that have curtailed policyholders’ personal and commercial activities, the projected risk and loss exposure across a variety of insurance lines have become overstated or misclassified. In response, Commissioner Lara in Bulletin 2020-3 ordered all insurers doing business in California to make an initial partial premium refund for the months of March and April as quickly as possible (but in no event later than August 11, 2020) to certain California policyholders.
Q. What exactly does Commissioner Lara’s new bulletin (Bulletin 2020-4) clarify?
A. Bulletin 2020-4 clarifies that prior Bulletin 2020-3 does not require full, 100% refunds of premiums for the months of March and April. It does, however, compel insurers to provide partial refunds, taking into account only the portions of premiums for the months of March and April where projected loss exposures of certain policies have become misclassified or overstated. Further, Bulletin 2020-3 provided that if the COVID-19 pandemic continued into and beyond May, a subsequent bulletin would be issued to insurers. Commissioner Lara has done just that with Bulletin 2020-4.
Q. What does Bulletin 2020-4 say about extending the time for premium reductions?
A. Consistent with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s May 7 order transitioning California into Stage 2 of the so-called Pandemic Resilience Roadmap—all the while keeping the state’s stay-at-home order in effect—Commissioner Lara’s latest bulletin extends the directive in Bulletin 2020-3, requiring carriers to reduce premium in the affected lines of insurance through May 31, 2020. Remember, Bulletin 2020-3 only contemplated the months of March and April.
Of note, if the stay-at-home order in California continues into June and beyond, the commissioner will issue additional directives to ensure premiums continue to accurately affect policyholders’ exposure to loss.
Q. To put Bulletin 2020-4 in proper context, what were the directives in Bulletin 2020-3?
A. The prior bulletin requires insurers issuing policies in the following lines of insurance to provide affected California policyholders with a notification of the amount of their partial refunds, a check, premium credit, reduction, return of premium, or other appropriate premium adjustment, no later than August 11, 2020:
- Workers’ compensation
- Commercial multi-peril
- Commercial liability
- Medical malpractice
- Commercial automobile
- Private passenger automobile
- Any other insurance line where the risk of loss has fallen substantially as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, carriers must provide explanations of the basis for the adjustments, including any changes to the classification or exposure basis of affected policyholders.
Q. Do the premium-related bulletins require insurers to report anything to the California Department of Insurance?
A. Yes, affected insurers must report to the CDI no later than June 12, 2020 all actions taken and contemplated future actions to refund partial premium in response to or consistent with the bulletins. The required reporting must now also include information with respect to any premium adjustments for May 2020, in addition to March and April.
The CDI provided a Microsoft Excel workbook, which can be found here, for insurers to use for their reports, which are to be submitted to the Rate Specialist Bureau at RSBCovid19PR@insurance.ca.gov.
We are working diligently to keep our clients up to date on coronavirus-related developments. Nevertheless, these developments are changing daily and, in some cases even hourly, so it is important that you make sure you are dealing with the most current information. That being said, this alert is not offered, and should not be relied on, as legal advice. You should consult an attorney for guidance and counsel regarding any specific concern or situation.