COVID 19 Update July 2020

Bay of Quinte Mutual Insurance continues to work diligently to understand and respond to the unusual circumstances we continue to face during these troubling and unprecedented times. We fully support the directives to reduce the spread of COVID 19, and we understand this has created uncertainty for our policyholders and communities. We are listening to our policyholders and striving to make the most informed decisions during this evolving situation. It is encouraging our region of the province is now in stage 3 of re-opening and the number of active COVID 19 cases remains low.

Our office doors remain closed to the public but we are open and operating to support our policyholders and broker partners.

Effective August 01, 2020, we will be making some changes to begin our company’s return to a more normal state of business. We continue to monitor the announcements by our local public health and the province. If the situation deteriorates, then we will re-examine our decisions and make changes if necessary.

Payment options and returned payment fees:
We continue to be committed to finding payment solutions for our policyholders whose financial circumstances are impacted by COVID 19. We understand there is not one solution to meet everyone’s needs and we urge our policyholders who need assistance to contact our office to determine what can be done to ease the financial concerns. Some of the options available include offering monthly payments, changing payment dates for those paying monthly, being more lenient on allowing policyholders to switch payments from bank accounts to credit cards and deferring payments for a limited period of time.

We have been waiving all fees for returned payments. Moving forward, we will continue to temporarily waive returned item fees only for payments returned as a result of COVID 19.

Loss prevention:
Bay of Quinte Mutual suspended our loss prevention service on March 17, 2020. We will resume loss prevention service on August 01, 2020.

If you are a long time policyholder and your business, farm or home is due for inspection, then you would have received a letter from our company before COVID 19. If you are new to Bay of Quinte Mutual, then your welcome letter would have stated loss prevention service is temporarily suspended. A member of our loss prevention team will contact both our existing and new policyholders to schedule the inspection.

We will keep the safety of our policyholders and loss prevention team paramount while we resume loss prevention service. Our loss prevention team will:
• wear masks that will be disposed of following the inspection,
• sanitize all equipment between inspections, and
• adhere to social distancing protocols.

Claims:
In order to ensure the health and well being of our policyholders, staff and claims partners, most claims will be adjusted with minimal face to face contact. We will begin to introduce face to face adjusting in situations where it is deemed necessary to properly understand and adjust the claim. Safety protocols as described for loss prevention will be adhered to with claims adjusting.

Vacant and unoccupied businesses:
The province of Ontario is gradually allowing businesses in our region to re-open. We will interpret the insurance wordings and adjust claims applying the clauses in the wordings that affect coverage when a business is vacant or unoccupied. The only exception to this will be a business that is still prohibited from operating by the province of Ontario.

Your insurance policy:
If you made changes to your insurance policy coverage or limits and your situation has changed, I would encourage you to discuss your current circumstances and insurance needs with your insurance broker. We will adjust claims in accordance with the policy wording, coverage and limits that are in place at the time of a loss.

Thank you for your kind understanding as we navigate this time. As always, we are proud to be working together towards a stronger future.

Sincerely,

Jeffery Howell
President