On May 12, 2021, New Jersey adopted a law requiring insurers ‎issuing policies covering loss or damage to property, including the loss of use and occupancy ‎and business interruption, to provide their insureds with a one page summary of common ‎insurance clauses in such commercial property policies. The summary, which was developed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance (“DOBI”), was posted on their website on August 16, 2021 and must be provided to all existing policyholders within 90 days of its posting (which is November 13, 2021). The summary is also required to be provided to any potential purchaser, or to any policyholder seeking renewal.

The Connecticut General Assembly passed climate-related risk legislation on June 17, 2021 in a section of its state budget implementation bill, making this legislation the first climate-related risk legislation in the United States. SB 1202 Section 346 incorporates provisions of SB 1047, a bill introduced by the Insurance Committee and Real Estate Committee.

The New Jersey Assembly is currently considering legislation that would authorize property ‎insurers offering coverage for loss of use and occupancy and business interruption to provide ‎their insureds a rider covering global virus transmission or pandemic. The bill provides that the ‎Commissioner of Banking and Insurance must review and approve, on an expedited basis, any ‎such rider offered by an insurer. ‎

On May 12, 2021, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a bill requiring insurers issuing policies covering loss or damage to property, including the loss of use and occupancy and business interruption, to disclose to policyholders whether their policy provides coverage for “global virus transmission or pandemic.”

Both the New Jersey Assembly and Senate recently passed identical legislation that would ‎require insurers offering commercial coverage for loss or damage to property, including business ‎interruption, to provide insureds with a general summary of common insurance clauses in policies ‎for loss of use and occupancy of a commercial property, along with a disclosure relating to ‎pandemic and virus losses.‎

In an effort to help struggling businesses deal with the fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic, ‎legislatures in Florida, Illinois, Maine and Rhode Island have recently proposed legislation to ‎require insurance carriers to cover COVID-19 related business interruption claims. Traditionally, ‎business interruption policies require that a business suffer some sort of physical loss or damage ‎before the carrier will pay-out on a business interruption claim.‎

In a very favorable ruling for insurance companies, a federal district court on May 6 held that ‎Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company had not misclassified as an independent contractor (IC) ‎a life insurance agent who alleged that he was an “employee” under the New Jersey Wage Payment ‎Law. ‎