Corona Virus Update & How it affects your Auto Insurance

Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing okay and staying safe from this virus. I just wanted to touch base with you to let you know how things are going as far as how the auto insurance industry and state license bureaus are dealing with this virus shutdown. Many of you have been concerned about your policy and have called me with some questions that probably everyone else is wondering as well.

As far as the auto insurance industry, things are still going fairly well given the circumstances. Most of the auto insurance companies are still open. The only difference is that many of their employees are working from home. And if you’re currently one of my customers, I have remained open since my office is located in my home anyways. So if you have any questions or concerns during business hours, please give me a call. And for those of you who have other types of policies with me such as motorcycle, boat, golf cart, snowmobile, mobile home, motorhome, etc., everything in this article applies to you as well.

At the end of this article, I will be posting contact info for websites and phone numbers for your state’s license bureau for those of you who live in the six states that I work in.

As far as the auto insurance companies, many of them are still operating as normal as they possibly can. So if you need to contact your insurance company, you can still do most of the things online that you could before. This includes the companies who have apps that you use on your phone. Or if you need to give them a call, most companies still have someone there 24/7 to take your call. Understand that because of the changes in logistics as far as employees working at home, you may experience longer wait times on the phone. But you will still be able to get to talk to someone who can help you.
As far as your state’s license bureau, you can still do many things online that you could before. And while most all of the BMV/DMV locations are closed, many of them are providing phone numbers to where you can reach someone.
 
The good news:

• For those of you who have lost all or part of your income because of this shutdown, the auto insurance companies are being more lenient and flexible about certain situations more so than what they were before. So if you have a payment due very soon and you’re unable to make the payment on time because you’ve lost all or part of your income, I strongly suggest that you call your insurance company. Most all of these companies will work with you during these uncertain times. But be sure you call before your payment is due! Don’t wait until your policy is past due. I have noticed that most companies are being very flexible with financial issues you may have.

• For those of you who may soon have a driver’s license or tag/registration about to expire, again, the state license bureaus have been more lenient on those issues as well. I suggest you go online to your state’s BMV/DMV or call to see exactly how to handle your issue. But for the most part, states have asked law enforcement officers to use a little more discretion and leniency for those who have reached an expiration regarding their vehicle/license. But again, be sure to find out exactly what your state is doing because each state is handling it a little differently than the next.

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 *** Second Update: Food Delivery Work.
  
 Many restaurant employees (such as waitresses, bar staff, etc.) and also others who have been laid off from their regular job have picked up temporary work delivering food since the Coronavirus Shutdown. If this applies to you, you may have been wondering  how this works with your personal auto insurance policy.

 In the past  as far back as I can remember,  no Personal Auto Insurance policy ever covered a driver While making any work related deliveries ( you needed a commercial auto insurance policy to do that). However, because of this coronavirus shutdown, many auto insurance companies are removing that exclusion while this shutdown goes on. So if this applies to you, be sure to call either your agent or your auto insurance company to ask if the company is indeed removing that exclusion temporarily.
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If anything Important happens or changes in the upcoming days or weeks, I will update this blog article with the most recent info. So be sure to check back periodically to see if there have been any changes made. Take care everyone and be safe!
 
State BMV/DMV Contact info:

Ohio
https://www.bmv.ohio.gov/
(844) 644-6268
 
Indiana
https://www.in.gov/bmv
888-692-6841
 
Michigan
https://www.michigan.gov/sos
(888) 767-6424
 
Pennsylvania
https://www.dmv.pa.gov
717-412-5300
 
Virginia
https://www.dmv.virginia.gov/#/
(804) 497-7100
 
West Virginia
https://transportation.wv.gov/DMV/
304-558-3900

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