Midwest Insurers AmeriTrust, Grange Unveil COVID-19 Relief for Businesses
Grange Insurance Co., based in Columbus, Ohio, and AmeriTrust Group Inc. in Southfield, Michigan, are offering relief plans to business insurance customers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Grange Insurance has launched Businessowner Policy (BOP) payback, which will return 20% of April and May premiums to its BOP customers. This support is an expansion of the customer relief the company recently unveiled for its personal auto customers.
AmeriTrust has created an “Economic Relief Payment Plan,” offering a zero-down payment relief plan for qualifying new business accounts.
Grange Insurance’s BOP customers will receive a 20% payback for the months of April and May for policies in-force as of March 31, pending regulatory approval. Paybacks will be issued by check and mailed to customers in May. The payments will happen automatically, and customers do not need to do anything to receive the payback.
The small business paybacks announced today are in addition to the relief Grange is already providing to customers during this pandemic. This includes:
- Personal Auto Payback: Providing a 25% premium payback for April and May for personal auto customers related to the various COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders, with an estimated $25 million impact in relief.
- Billing Flexibility: Offering a grace period to pay premiums and waiving late fees for personal and commercial policyholders directly impacted by the circumstances surrounding COVID-19.
- Food Delivery: Supporting our commercial restaurant insureds and our personal auto policyholders who work in the restaurant industry by temporarily adjusting coverages to provide flexibility for food delivery exposure.
Grange has been and will continue to work with agents and customers on a case-by-case basis to reflect the exposure changes our customers are experiencing during these stay-at-home orders for their Commercial Package, general liability and workers compensation policies, which are easily adjusted for changes in exposures and reduction in business. The company is also working with agents and customers to adjust or suspend certain coverages on insured commercial vehicles that are not being used as a result of stay-at-home orders.
Under AmeriTrust’s plan, beginning May 1, 2020, new qualifying admitted commercial property/casualty insurance accounts on a direct-billing basis will not be required to make any down payments or first month payments on their insurance policies. Instead, AmeriTrust will offer qualifying accounts a convenient 11-installment payment plan.
The annual policy premium will be split equally across the 11 monthly installments with the first payment due 30 days after their policy effective date and monthly thereafter.
The Economic Relief Payment Plan is available from AmeriTrust’s admitted insurance company subsidiaries. The Economic Relief Payment Plan will initially be offered for a 60-day period.
The plan does not apply to program business, trucking business, excess workers’ compensation business, or monoline “pay-as-you-go” workers’ compensation policies.
Guaranteed Policy Renewals: AmeriTrust has extended its guaranteed policy renewals program through July 31. The company previously informed its contracted retail insurance agencies that AmeriTrust’s admitted insurance carriers will guarantee renewal of all general business policies for accounts renewing up until July 1, 2020. AmeriTrust has extended its guaranteed renewals through July 31, 2020.
Renewals will not be re-underwritten in most circumstances. Depending on line of business, policies will be renewed as-is and may receive a nominal premium increase between 0 – 5%. As always, specific renewal guidance, such as policy endorsements and other changes, will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
The guaranteed admitted lines renewals do not apply to program business, trucking business, or excess workers’ compensation business.
AmeriTrust carriers reserve the right to cancel or non-renew any policy for fraud or material misrepresentation, as allowed by applicable law. AmeriTrust carriers also reserve the right to cancel or non-renew any policy upon discovery of a material change in risk, as allowed by applicable law.
Established in 1935, Grange Insurance and its affiliate Integrity Insurance Co. serve policyholders in Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin.
Founded in 1955, AmeriTrust Group is a nationally recognized commercial insurance underwriter and insurance administration services provider in the commercial property and casualty insurance industry. AmeriTrust is comprised of four distribution segments of the insurance marketplace: admitted carrier operations, excess & surplus lines carrier operations, wholesale MGU/MGA and third-party administration operations, and retail insurance agency operations.
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