Home and motor insurers’ Covid-19 support pledges extended to October

ABI members within the home and motor insurance sectors that committed to deliver a range of customer support measures to aid policyholders during the coronavirus pandemic will continue to honour the customer pledges until 31 October 2020.

The ABI initially introduced the customer pledges for its insurer members back in March in order to offer enhanced help and support to customers that may have been affected by the Covid-19 outbreak.

These measures were due to be reviewed today (1 September), however the ABI confirmed on Friday 28 August that the customer pledges designed for the home and motor insurance sectors would remain in force until 31 October. At this point, the pledges will once again be reviewed.

This means that office-based staff who are now working from home, or employees who are now driving to work rather than using public transport do not need to contact their insurer to update or extend their insurance cover.

The home and motor insurance pledges are:

• Support those who need to make a claim and do everything possible to continue handling claims despite the challenging circumstances.
• Support those who are working from home. Home insurance cover will not be affected for office-based staff who are now working from home as a result of the pandemic. They do not need to contact their insurer to update documents or extend cover.
• Support those who cannot work from home. If employees have to drive to their workplace because of the impact of Covid-19, their insurance policy will not be affected. They do not need to contact their insurer to update documents or extend cover.
• Support those who use their cars to help their communities. If individuals are using their own car for voluntary purposes to transport medicines or groceries to support others who are impacted by Covid-19, then their cover will not be affected. They do not need to contact their insurer to update documents or extend cover. This applies to all categories of NHS volunteer responders, including transporting patients, equipment, or other essential supplies.
• Support key workers. If an individual’s work is critical to the national response to Covid-19 and they need to use their own car to drive to different locations for work purposes, cover will not be affected. They do not need to contact their insurer to update documents or extend their cover.

Mark Shepherd, assistant director and head of general insurance policy at the ABI, said: “Insurers are committed to helping customers throughout these challenging times. If you are an office-based worker who is working from home, or an employee driving to your workplace because of the pandemic, you are covered.

“The insurance industry plays a vital role as a final safety net for customers and the extension of these customer pledges demonstrates the industry’s commitment to supporting those impacted by the crisis.”

Customer pledges for the pet insurance industry, on the other hand, will be reviewed on 30 September. These include the provision that being unable to access veterinary services will not invalidate pet policies and that insurers will offer flexibility on policy conditions that require pets to have a vaccination or health check.