Maryland has been under a State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic since March 5, 2020. The Maryland Insurance Administration issued Bulletin No. 20-18 to all Insurers on April 6, 2020 which includes the following guidance:
- Owners of multiple vehicles, including commercial fleets, may wish to put some vehicles out of service during the State of Emergency in order to discontinue coverage for those vehicles and save the attendant premium. Such policyholders may provide a list of the out of service vehicles to their insurer and request premium modification.
- Insurers are encouraged to work with policyholders to make these premium reductions without the return of tags. This will eliminate the need to re-register vehicles after the State of Emergency ends.
- Policyholders must not use vehicles that have been reported to an insurer as being out of service for any reason until after notifying the insurer that the vehicle is being put back into service.
For complete details, please see the entire Maryland Bulletin 20-18.
Maryland Bulletin No. 20-10
On March 20, 2020, the Maryland Insurance Commissioner issued Bulletin No. 20-10 that provides guidance to insurers regarding cancellation of personal and commercial lines policies due to non-payment of premium during the COVID-19 emergency.
Maryland specifically encourages insurers to:
- Make reasonable accommodations so that individuals and businesses do not lose coverage due to non-payment of premium during the COVID-19 emergency.
- Reasonable accommodations may include suspension of premiums due, extension of billing due dates and premium grace periods, and waiver of installment and late payment fees.
- Take steps to encourage policyholders to use electronic payment technology on websites, apps and electronic bank transfers whenever possible.
The entire Maryland Bulletin 20-10 may be found here.