. true

Alabama Bulletin No. 2020-5

Alabama has been under a State of Emergency in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic since March 13, 2020. The Alabama Department of Insurance issued Bulletin No. 2020-5 to all Insurers on March 30, 2020.

The Bulletin advises that for all policies in force as of March 13, 2020, insurers should consider:

  • Relaxing due dates for premium payments and extending grace periods.
  • Waiving late fees and penalties.
  • Allowing premium payment plans to help policyholders avoid a lapse in coverage.
  • Expanding automobile coverage to allow personal vehicles to be covered while being used while delivering food, medicine or other essential services for commercial purposes.
  • Cancelling or non-renewing policies only after exhausting all efforts to work with policyholders to continue coverage.
  • Providing alternate methods of payment, such as online or other electronic transfers, that are consistent with safe social distancing standards and eliminate the need for in person payment.

A policy may be cancelled or non-renewed for legally recognized reasons or policy provisions other than late payment or failure to pay premiums.

For full details, please see the entire Alabama Bulletin No. 2020-5.