Dear Valued Clients,
We are on week two of telecommuting and adjusting to the new normal during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are going to great lengths to maintain a high level of service and adhere to our client experience commitments. Our mission is to provide our clients with every resource available to our clients during this difficult time. We will keep our lines of communication open and provide only pertinent information to avoid unnecessarily clogging your inbox or wasting valuable time which could be better spent on your personal or professional challenges. Our communications will continue to focus on providing information that can assist and support our clients – there are plenty of resources for COVID-19 data so we will focus on insurance-related information to help support your business during this time.
Practice Changes: If you are altering your practice in any way please email, call or text any one of our Presidio team. We will quickly determine what (if anything) needs to be done to adjust your policy or policies. Examples include: adding/altering tele-health, change of location or staff, hiring new providers, bringing back “retired” providers, volunteering to provide medical services – including practicing outside your covered specialty.
Out of State Providers: Many of the insurers have issued confirmation that medical malpractice coverage can and will be extended if you temporarily hire providers that do not meet state licensing requirements. The important issue to note is you must confirm the state where the provider will be practicing “unlicensed” has issued approval for this accommodation due to COVID19. NOT ALL STATES have done so. The following link provides up to date information on this topic. https://www.fsmb.org/siteassets/advocacy/pdf/state-emergency-declarations-licensures-requirements-covid-19.pdf
Premium Payments: Any practice that is experiencing difficulties making payments due to the COVID-19 impact should contact us right away. From deferring payments to adjusting policies to reflect decreased/alternate exposures, we will do all we can to work with you to reduce the financial impact of COVID-19 on your business. Please note some but not all your insurance policies are based on revenues, visits/encounters, imaging, payroll or staffing. Therefore, if you have experienced a meaningful change to your practice please contact us to determine what steps (if any) need to be taken at this time.
Disability or Life Insurance Coverage: We have not yet received any notification of a moratorium on applying for or purchasing disability or life insurance coverage. If you need coverage please contact us and we will obtain a quote on your behalf. Please allow for delays of 2-4 days due to a back log on requests to the insurers.
Service Requests: All of our insurers have provided us with modes of communication to continue to process service requests for invoices, policy changes and certificates of insurance. We expect only a slight delay in our normal service times for the next 90 days.
Claims Reporting and Processing: Insurers remain available to process new and existing claims. We can provide you with the online links to submit claims or provide the claims adjuster contact information for existing claims. We do expect delays in claims processing. Below are some of the more common claims inquiries we have been addressing related to COVID-19:
- Workers Compensation Claims: In most cases contraction of COVID-19 is not considered to be a work-related condition. However, depending on your state guidelines in certain circumstances claims for healthcare workers involving COVID-19 could be allowed. We cannot make coverage determinations or interpretations, so we suggest filing a claim and allow the carrier to advise if the work-related activity meets the criteria for benefits under workers compensation coverage. Criteria may include (among other things) determining if not for the work could an employee have contracted the virus elsewhere and identifying a precise instance during the course of performing job duties where the employee could have contracted the virus from treating an infected patient.
- Individual Disability Claims: Each policy is different and has different eligibility periods, please contact us to determine if your policy has any provisions that might preclude you from receiving disability benefits if you become disabled due to COVID-19 related medical conditions.
- Business Interruption Claims: In general property insurance policies with business interruption coverage included are not designed to cover losses in the event of a virus. However, there are circumstances where there may be coverage and we suggest filing a claim with the carrier if you believe you have a business interruption claim (or other COVID-19 related claim on your business office policy).
All of us here at Presidio value you and your service to the community. We will do all we can to support you in any way possible.
Yours,
The Presidio Team