Senators Ask Trump To Shield Insurers From State Legislation

Small business insurance policies rarely cover business interruptions that result from a pandemic, but state lawmakers in New York, New Jersey, Ohio and Massachusetts have introduced bills that would retroactively require insurers to cover those losses. The property/casualty industry estimates that business interruption losses from the coronavirus just for small businesses in the U.S. could be between $220-$383 billion per month — or a quarter to half of the total industry surplus available to pay all P/C claims. The proposed bills have met fierce opposition from insurance industry lobbyists, and in response, seven Republican senators have written the president a letter asking that he commit to protecting the insurance industry from such proposals. They reason that the proposed changes “undermine our understanding of contractual obligations” and would serve to “help one segment of the economy by seriously harming another.” They predicted that the changes would be tied up in court for years, and said they were willing to use other means to help small businesses.