BULLETIN

April 20, 2020

Western National COVID-19 Update – Commercial Lines

In recognition of the hardship that the COVID-19 situation and its economic impacts have brought upon many of our commercial lines policyholders, today we are pleased to announce a number of actions we are taking to ensure continued flexibility for our commercial customers in need.

The following actions are effective immediately:

Through June 1, 2020, we will not be canceling Commercial Lines policies due to non-payment of premium.
We will work with policyholders who need premium billing relief to ensure that we are flexible and that they can change billing timing.
For General Liability policies:

If a policyholder’s operations are impacted by COVID-19, you can reach out to your Commercial Lines Underwriting Team to adjust exposures on current policies to better reflect annual payroll and receipt estimates.
If a policyholder continues to pay employees while not working due to government “stay at home / shelter in place” orders, we will not use this “paid furloughed” payroll in General Liability premium calculations (if payroll is the rating basis for their General Liability policy). Policyholders will need to maintain separate payroll records so that this payroll can be recognized at the time of the premium audit.

For Workers’ Compensation policies:

If a policyholder’s operations are impacted by COVID-19, you can reach out to your Commercial Lines Underwriting Team to adjust payrolls on current policies to better reflect annual payroll estimates.
If a policyholder continues to pay employees while not working due to government “stay at home / shelter in place” orders, we will not use this “paid furloughed” payroll in premium calculations. Policyholders will need to maintain separate payroll records so that this payroll can be properly recognized at premium audit time.
If a policyholder’s employees are working from home during government “stay at home / shelter in place” orders, payroll can be reassigned to a more appropriate classification if the policyholder maintains separate payroll records for these employees.

For Businessowners Policies (BOPs):

Some of our BOP policies use payroll or receipts as a rating basis to calculate the estimated annual premium. In those cases, rating exposures can be adjusted to reflect revised estimates. Please reach out to your Commercial Lines Underwriting Team to request exposure revisions.
Unlike several other carriers, Western National’s BOP can be audited at the end of a policy term to reflect actual rating exposures.

In recognition of the fact that many businesses may find the current situation an ideal time to engage employees in safety training, through June 30, 2020, Western National policyholders can now rent up to eight videos a month from our Free Safety Video Program. (Streaming and DVD options are both available.) Policyholders can also purchase videos at an additional discount. More information on this program will be available soon, but rentals can begin anytime by following the account creation process on the webpage linked above.

In addition to these new actions, we are pleased to continue the following practices through at least June 1, 2020 (having announced them in a previous email to our agency partners):

Whenever possible, physical Premium Audits will be replaced with virtual or phone audits during “stay at home / shelter in place” orders.
Loss Control Surveys will be conducted virtually or over the phone as needed. When appropriate, Loss Control Surveys may be postponed. There may be some instances when a physical loss control survey will be necessary to quote a risk. We will communicate with you in situations where this is the case.

While the COVID-19 situation has been challenging for everyone, we are confident that measures like these will help ensure that our customers’ insurance obligations do not pose an undue burden during this difficult and uncertain time. We remain committed to working with our policyholders, agency partners, and employees to get through these challenges together.

Thank you for your continued partnership with, and trust in, Western National Insurance. If you have any questions, please contact any member on your Commercial Lines Underwriting Team or your Regional Agency Manager.