The Alaska Division of Insurance (the “Division”) issued two new bulletins this week in the wake of Governor Mike Dunleavy declaring a public health disaster emergency for COVID-19.

On March 18th, in an effort to provide relief to affected policyholders by allowing continuing insurance ‎coverage, the Division issued Bulletin B 20-80 (the “Cancellation Bulletin”), prohibiting insurers from terminating insurance contracts due to ‎non-payment.. The Cancellation Bulletin states that the Division will work with carriers to minimize the regulatory ‎effects of such an extension, specifically financial review requirements.  The extension of the grace ‎period does not eliminate the obligation to pay the premium, but limits policy cancellation for late ‎payment.

The Cancellation Bulletin remains in effect until June 1st, 2020.

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On March 16th, the Division issued Bulletin 20-06 (the “Filing Bulletin”), notifying insurers that effective immediately rate, form, and advertisement filings will be extended as permitted by statute.  The Filing Bulletin extension guidelines are as follows:

‎                “Prior Approval Forms: under AS 21.42.123 insurers will be allowed an additional 15 ‎days to respond to objection letters for a total of 45 days. The state will be permitted ‎an additional 30 days for a total of 60 days.‎

‎                File and Use Forms: under AS 21.42.125 filings will be automatically granted the 30-‎day extension. The filings must be completed within 60 days.‎

‎‎                Prior Approval Rates: under AS 21.39.041 insurers will be allowed an additional 15 ‎days to respond to an objection letter for a total of 45 days. The Division review may ‎take an additional 15 days resulting in 30 days for the division to review.‎

‎‎                File and Use Rates: under AS 21.39.220, AS 21.51.405, and AS 21.54.015, insurers and ‎the state will be allowed a 15-day extension. Under AS 21.57.080, insurers and the ‎state will be allowed a 30-day extension. The waiting period is automatically ‎extended to 60 days.‎”    ‎

Additionally, insurers may request filings originally submitted as File and ‎Use be treated as Prior Approval if their company experiences operational challenges due to ‎COVID-19.  The Division reserves the right to treat File and Use filings as Prior Approval if ‎deemed necessary by the director.

Locke Lord will continue to monitor these developments. ‎

Visit our COVID-19 Resource Center often for up-to-date information to help you stay informed of the legal issues related to COVID-19.