South Carolina Issues Hurricane Florence Data Call, Emergency Order to Insurers

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The South Carolina Department of Insurance has issued two Hurricane Florence-related notices to all property and casualty insurers doing business in the state.

SCDOI Director Ray Farmer issued an emergency regulation Friday designed to protect insurance consumers as they recover from Hurricane Florence, according to a statement from SCDOI.

The emergency regulation imposes a 60-day moratorium on cancellations for nonpayment of premiums and on nonrenewals for insureds directly impacted by Hurricane Florence. The 60-day moratorium began Friday, Sept. 14, 2018 and ends Nov. 13, 2018.

“This emergency regulation will help South Carolinians by giving them some extra time to focus on their family and immediate needs before worrying about insurance notices or paperwork,” said Farmer.

Concurrent with the regulation’s issuance, Farmer also issued Emergency Order 2018-EO-001 ordering persons licensed or authorized to transact the business of insurance in South Carolina to comply with the requirements of Emergency Regulation 69-79. The emergency regulation provides a number of other protections for consumers, including:

Requiring insurers to consider exceptions to proof of loss deadlines and contract or underwriting requirements for those insureds directly impacted by Hurricane Florence.
Prohibiting insurers from canceling or nonrenewing policies solely because of claims resulting from Hurricane Florence.
Suspending late payment, reinstatement, or insufficient funds fees along with any other fee, penalty, or interest charge resulting from an insured’s temporary inability to submit premium payments for those insureds directly impacted by Hurricane Florence.
Allowing insureds to request a duplicate copy of their policy at no additional cost.
Permitting claims payments to be made via prepaid debit card or electronic transfer provided certain conditions are met.
Requiring one early or replacement prescription refill.

For purposes of this regulation, an insured directly impacted by Hurricane Florence means the insured has experienced emergency conditions that make it difficult for the insured to timely act or respond to insurance notices, documentation requests or timely pay premiums.

On Sept. 13, South Carolina Director of Insurance Ray Farmer sent a notice to all property and casualty insurance companies authorized to do business in the state, including eligible surplus lines insurers and companies that write private/and or excess flood insurance coverage.

requiring to respond to a data call for claims relating to Hurricane Florence for South Carolina policies. The first report is due Oct. 1, 2018 for claims reported as of Sept. 26, 2018. Reports will be required weekly until April 8, 2019.

Data must be submitted at the zip code level, with a breakdown of claims data by zip code and the name of the corresponding city or town for each zip code provided. A copy of the data call spreadsheet template and instructions can be downloaded from the SCDOI website.

Farmer previously issued a bulletin allowing carriers to initiate an emergency adjuster process. That means temporary non-resident adjusters can assist with handling claims in the state in the aftermath of the storm.

Source: SCDOI