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In today’s TechTips, I wanted to highlight some resources you might find helpful as you adapt to a changing work environment. I am committed to being your partner while things remain uncertain with COVID-19, and that means providing you with as many resources as possible as well as our unwavering support.

Insurance Coverage Resources

Besides being a technology geek, I am also an insurance geek. Most people don’t know (unless you read my long bio) that I received a Masters of Arts degree in Insurance Law in the mid-80s from what is now the David C. Clark School of Law. No, I am not an attorney, but I have studied more about insurance law than most.

I know you are receiving client calls asking about insurance coverage for COVID-19 related losses. The resources below may help you formulate an answer.

National and State Insurance Associations

Does ISO’s Business Income policy respond if a business shuts down because of the coronavirus? What happens if the authorities require the business to close? There is a short answer to these questions, but it’s not necessarily a simple answer. The National Big “I” is addressing this major insurance concern in a free 25-minute webinar, “Coronavirus (COVID-19): Does Business Income Respond?” The webinar is being offered both on-demand and online each day at 1:30 p.m. EDT now through Tuesday, March 31. Click here to watch the webinar immediately, or click here to register for a date that fits best with your schedule.

Many state associations have created resource pages on their website that provide national and state-specific information. Many times there are state-specific requirements or limitations your organization should make sure you are following. Here are a couple of state sites I have come across:

• Big I of New York
• Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) – The issue in Florida is the legal limitations of letting agency staff work remotely. There has been an order released by the state to waive the requirement. If you are in Florida, be sure to visit the site for full details.
• PIA of New York

Other Industry Experts

• Bill Wilson is the coverage expert I go to when I have a coverage question. He has published an article about coronavirus insurance information.
• Scott Addis and his Beyond Insurance Global Network hosted a webinar with a panel of experts in business continuity, claims management, cyber, HR, OSHA record-keeping as well as an attorney with expertise in policy language. You can view a recording here.
• The Property Insurance Coverage Law Blog from the Merlin Law Group has made available a PDF with detailed information that you can download here.
• The first Coronavirus Coverage suit was filed in New Jersey.
• Randy Maniloff’s article on the coverage questions is here.

Technology Resources

You likely have received quite a bit of information about the tools and mindsets necessary to work from home. Here are a few more you might have missed.

TotalCSR

TotalCSR is an on-line training platform for new CSRs, agents, and producers. I previously wrote about the platform here. They have added a new course about COVID-19 which is available for free to anyone (no signup required).

Vertafore Insurance Podcast

Vertafore just released a special edition of their podcast. While we are all trying to settle into our new normal, Laura Nettles, CEO of Nettles Consulting, discusses the things you can be doing in this new environment to maintain the customer relationships you value so much. Tune in and stay safe!

RPost

RPost CEO has just announced a free Work-from-Home Rapid Readiness Program, which provides an e-signature, email security, and file sharing toolkit with a quick RSign and RMail install.

“Even though RSign and RMail are highly affordable, we believe making these free for people everywhere in light of the pandemic to simplify life for IT and procurement staff, as they can put e-signature and email security services in the hands of all end-users now and optimize later,” stated RPost CEO Zafar Khan.

With a 2-minute install into Microsoft Outlook or Gmail, or using RMail or RSign web apps, everyone is automatically enabled for RSign and RMail business licenses at no cost and no credit card or telephone discussions are needed.

You can read the full text of the CEO letter here.

LinkedIn Learning

The LinkedIn Learning platform is a great place to improve your skills. They have recognized that you likely have employees who are, or will be, working remotely to help contain and mitigate the spread of the virus. Different organizations are at different stages with remote work, but few of us have done it at the current scale. To help support you and your workforce adapting and ideally thriving, LinkedIn Learning has opened up a number of courses that focus on being productive while working from home, including tips on using virtual meeting tools to build relationships in a new working environment. They are now available for free.

If you have other resources you think would be helpful, please leave a comment below.