Barnstable, Dukes, Nantucket State Rep. Dylan Fernandes
HYANNIS – State lawmakers have filed legislation in both the Senate and House that would call on insurance companies to honor claims around business interruption insurance.
Both the House and Senate legislation would also require companies to do away with virus-exclusion clauses.
According to Barnstable/Dukes/Nantucket State Representative Dylan Fernandes, insurers have been strictly denying all claims under business interruption coverage and saying that pandemics, like the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, are not covered.
“The pandemic has shuttered more than a third of small businesses across the state, devastating our local communities. These businesses pay for business interruption insurance every year, but insurance companies have refused to cover losses related to the pandemic,” said Fernandes in a statement.
“Small businesses are experiencing unprecedented pain while the insurance companies that are supposed to help them are making a profit and sitting on a pile of cash. This legislation works to ensure that insurance companies do their job and provide support to our local small businesses during a time of great need.”
Love Live Local CEO Amanda Converse said that the ongoing pandemic continues to be a crisis for local small businesses, and that the legislation would be a “gamechanger” for them.
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