There’s a lot happening in the world right now. Loved ones to check in with, news to stay on top of, social distancing to practice, and work teams and operations to try to keep moving. If you’re like most business owners, you probably haven’t had much time to review the nuances of your current insurance policies and how they were originally structured. As we find ourselves in this period of uncertainty, we’re seeing many clients reach out for a comprehensive policy review both for short-term and long-term support. They’re asking questions like: 

Can I file a claim for business interruption losses if the government ordered me to shut down?

What does the new emergency Families First Coronavirus Response Act mean for me as an employer?

I need access to working capital now to make payroll. Where can I go for help? 

I’m shifting my workforce to remote. What do I need to know to operate effectively? 

Will my insurance carrier waive late payment fees due to coronavirus?

I’m now forecasting my revenues and employee headcount to be lower this year. Can I reduce my premiums and/or deductibles? 

I’m thinking about risk management planning for the future. What other coverage do you recommend for my business? 

Right now is an important time to review your insurance policy to ensure you have the best possible coverage in place with sufficient limits and affordable deductibles that will work for your needs now and in the future. Newfront’s seasoned team of licensed account managers are now available for complimentary mid-term policy reviews for all businesses in California facing risk due to COVID-19. 

Review the exposures used to calculate the premium on your policies (payroll, sales, operational costs, vehicle fleets, etc), looking for ways to reduce the cost of your insurance program in the event that one or more of those factors have changed due to coronavirus.

Advise on best practices for submitting claims to your insurance carriers.

Review the latest updates from each of your insurance carriers, including services offered and remediation plans to provide support to businesses affected by this pandemic.

Evaluate across all of your policies in place (regardless of whether they’re with Newfront or not) to assess gaps in coverage and recommend policy adjustment opportunities moving forward.

If you’d like Newfront to conduct a policy review for your business, please fill out this form and your dedicated insurance team will get in touch in short order. 

Reviewing Your Policy Coverage with an Expert

At Newfront, we are closely monitoring developments at the intersection of insurance and COVID-19. We're actively engaging with our clients to help them bolster their finances during this time of crisis, understand their coverages, and stay informed about whether any coronavirus-related claims might be covered. To keep our clients up to date, we've published a COVID-19 resource hub and are hosting a "Real Talk for Businesses" webinar on Thursday, March 26 to answer many of your questions surrounding coronavirus and insurance. 

Here, we're sharing a list of news articles tracking the debate surrounding business interruption coverage due to coronavirus. Bookmark this page and check back; we will update this list as development occur.

Insurers Reject House Members’ Request to Cover Uninsured COVID Business Losses
March 20, Insurance Journal
"A bipartisan group of U.S. House members has asked insurers to retroactively recognize financial losses relating to COVID-19 under commercial business interruption coverage for policyholders."

Proposed N.J. Bill Would Require Insurers to Pay COVID-19 Business Interruption Claims
March 19, Insurance Journal
"A proposed New Jersey bill, which aims to create business interruption insurance coverage for COVID-19 related claims despite virus exclusions in many policies, has drawn concern about the constitutionality of legislation like this."

Coronavirus Coverage Tied to Physical Damage Definition: Experts
March 16, Business Insurance
“Open questions about coverage surrounding the coronavirus may well turn on the definition of physical damage and whether the virus or its presence meets that threshold, legal experts say.”

French Quarter Restaurant Sues in What May Be First U.S. Coronavirus Insurance Dispute
March 16, WWL-TV New Orleans
“In what’s believed to be a first in the U.S., a French Quarter restaurant is suing Lloyd’s of London, hoping a judge will order the U.K. based insurance market to cover losses caused by government-ordered closures due to the coronavirus.”

Coronavirus Losses and Insurance Policies
March 13, National Law Review
“As companies look to mitigate coronavirus-related losses, they should carefully review their insurance policies to determine whether they provide coverage for losses. While coverage will ultimately turn on the specific terms of the relevant insurance policies and the precise nature of the losses, a number of insurance lines may provide relief.”

Coronavirus Work-from-Home Response May Expand Cyber Risk
March 13, Insurance Journal 
“As U.S. employers ask employees to work from home to avoid exposure to coronavirus, they may be exposing themselves to another kind of risk: Cyberattacks.”

Insurers Face Big Investment Losses, Trade Credit Claims from Coronavirus Crisis
March 12, Insurance Journal
“Having initially brushed off the potential impact from coronavirus-linked claims, global insurers are waking up to the prospect of a double whammy – a sharp rise in payouts at a time of big investment losses.”

Risk Managers Advised to Prepare for Coronavirus D&O Claims
March 10, Business Insurance
“Businesses should brace themselves for a likely flood of shareholder suits related to the new coronavirus outbreak, but the success of any litigation may depend on companies’ willingness to fully disclose directors and officers liability-related risks now, say many experts.”

Will Business Interruption Insurance Provide Coverage for Coronavirus Losses?
March 6, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
"With COVID-19 disrupting global supply chains and sales, businesses are losing income and incurring additional expenses as a result of the disruption. Whether the claims are covered will depend on the terms and conditions of the insurance policy and the circumstances of the loss."

Lawsuits Against Businesses Over Coronavirus Have Begun. More to Come?
March 4, Insurance Journal
"The coronavirus has upended markets, disrupted supply chains and forced quarantines. It’s all fertile ground for lawsuits. Here’s a survey of the likely legal landscape."

Insurance and COVID-19: Ongoing News Coverage

In the past twelve months we’ve grown from 10 employees to more than 75 of the most ambitious and intelligent people I've ever met. With all this momentum, I wanted to take a moment to share what we're doing and reflect on how we’re changing the insurance industry.

Preface - Now is a great time to join us! It’s a great time to join Newfront, and we’re hiring across the board. Whether you’re considering a change or not, please take a look at our careers page.

Newfront is a traditional retail brokerage with a powerful mission. We’re improving the agency model by empowering our brokers with technology and expert service. Though we’re building our own technology platform, we don’t license or sell our software, and we’re not trying to “disrupt” what already works.

Our team has deep roots and expertise across the industry. From the very beginning, Newfront has been committed to quality: the quality of the business we write and the services we provide. We take pride in delivering comprehensive risk management, and we’re as committed as ever to our solid relationships with our carrier partners. While I’d like to see many improvements to the industry, the fundamental importance of the broker and the brokerage model itself have worked for decades.

I have long believed that technology can help insurance professionals, so our industry’s lack of technological adoption has always frustrated me. On one extreme, we have a culture afraid of change, while the other extreme boasts industry-outsiders building clunky one-size-fits-all software that only makes things worse.

I joined Newfront because I immediately connected with their approach: Build a completely new brokerage that integrates the best technology from day one. Since the beginning, we’ve been able to rapidly prototype and build tools that were immediately useful. Our engineers work directly with our producers and account managers, and we’re extremely pragmatic about what we build.

Our technology grants us impressive efficiencies and an improved experience for clients. Digital applications and renewals are only the beginning—our platform removes the pain from so many of the most cumbersome insurance tasks. After so many years feeling like our industry was falling behind, I’m proud to be part of the solution.

During my years in insurance, I’ve seen greed and misaligned incentives wreck professional relationships. Broken promises are a huge problem in our industry. That’s why we’re changing the economics to work in favor of the producer. We believe in sharing more value with those who create it. 

This is not a business built to enrich the management of the firm, this is a business that is designed to help producers and their clients. Newfront offers some of the industry’s highest splits and we give equity to every employee from day-one. While giving equity to producers up-front sounds radical, it simply ensures we’re all in this together, and we believe it’s the right way to build an impactful business.

Our industry has a reputation of being old-school and disinterested in innovation. There's always been an uneasiness around change and you don’t hear many people seriously considering how they can do better.

At Newfront, we’re all here to up-level the industry, and I’m proud of our inclusive culture of growth, collaboration and improvement. When guests walk into the office, they tell me they’re stunned by the energy and enthusiasm they experience. It’s something they really haven’t felt in insurance before, and it leads to phenomenal outcomes for brokers and clients alike.

Whenever I’m asked about our service and account management team, I always mention that we hire problem-solvers with an entrepreneurial mindset. At most brokerages, account managers’ responsibilities fall within a rigid structure that squashes creativity and enthusiasm. Newfront’s culture, however, allows us to give our account managers much broader authority and autonomy, which empowers them to deliver much better service.

We believe culture is fundamental to building a successful business. Our culture, perhaps more than anything else, has enabled our growth. It’s the energy I always wanted to find in the industry and never could. It’s why you should reach out to me about joining Newfront!

Newfront Insurance – Notes on Changing the Industry

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Reviewing Your Policy Coverage with an Expert

Insurance and COVID-19: Ongoing News Coverage

Newfront Insurance – Notes on Changing the Industry

Newfront for Businesses

Newfront for Employee Benefits

Newfront for Private Clients

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Articles from Anna Beach

.css-13o7eu2{display:block;}Reviewing Your Policy Coverage with an Expert

Insurance and COVID-19: Ongoing News Coverage

Newfront Insurance – Notes on Changing the Industry

Newfront for Businesses

Newfront for Employee Benefits

Newfront for Private Clients

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Connect ‍
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us. ‍

Reviewing Your Policy Coverage with an Expert