Hi ,

We hope that you are safe and well. We understand that this e-newsletter likely finds many of you practicing social distancing (while remaining socially connected), whereas some of you must still go out into the world every day and provide essential services. Thank you. We appreciate the efforts that everyone is taking to help flatten the curve and providing necessary support to your communities in this difficult time, and we are certainly doing our part as well. This is an unprecedented time in history, and with that, we know that it comes with a host of emotions amidst a sea of uncertainty. Yet, we also recognize that it is often during moments of crisis that we experience defining acts of resilience and community-building. This month's issue is dedicated to providing you with the resources to help your businesses weather this storm as well as provide you with tools on how, as leaders, we can work to manage and navigate change given our rapidly evolving environment. We are here to provide support to you in any way that we can.

We're in this together,

Insurance Diversity Initiative Team

Resources Available for Businesses Amidst COVID-19

Following Governor Newsom's declaration of State of Emergency on March 4,2020 , many agencies and entities have established resources to provide guidance and support to businesses during this time of uncertainty. We have compiled a number of those links and resources here for your use. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but rather a starting point for impacted individuals to obtain information on next steps.

We hope these resources help answer some questions and/or provide guidance on the critical areas that you are working through. A special thank you to our courageous frontline healthcare professionals & volunteers, medical first responders, restaurant, grocery store, and delivery crews, and to the unwavering leadership of our government, insurance, and healthcare sector leaders during COVID-19. If you have any questions or resources that you think would be beneficial to share, please email us at diversity@insurance.ca.gov.

Business Interruption Insurance and Other Issues Affecting California Small Businesses

To assist the many businesses experiencing severe interruptions during the COVID-19 state of emergency, the Department provides the following general information for businesses regarding this particular insurance coverage:

 

Business Interruption Insurance covers a policyholder’s loss of business income sustained by the policyholder due to a necessary suspension of the business operations. The suspension of business operations ordinarily must be caused by direct physical damage to property at the insured location, and the damage must be caused by or result from a cause of loss or peril covered by the applicable policy.

 

The COVID-19 crisis is affecting millions of business owners and workers across the nation. Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara and the Department have been working with federal officials and state and local leaders to help businesses who are losing income due to government “shelter in place” orders and resulting business closure interruptions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

In order to inform state policymakers, the Department of Insurance is conducting a mandatory request to insurance companies for data about the number and type of small, mid-sized, and large businesses with business interruption coverage and the scale of both covered and uninsured business losses. Understanding the scope and magnitude of this crisis and its impact on our state’s businesses will help us work together on creative solutions.

 

While we deal with this unprecedented emergency, we strongly recommend that businesses review their policies and contact their insurance companies or brokers to determine what their policies cover as each insurance policy is different and the coverage varies depending on the type of policy you have. 

 

For more information, please refer to our FAQs on business interruption insurance and other issues affecting California small businesses seen here: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/140-catastrophes/FAQ-on-Business-Interruption-Insurance.cfm .

 

If you or someone you know has had their commercial insurance claim denied and would like for the Department to look into it further, please contact us at: http://www.insurance.ca.gov/01-consumers/101-help/index.cfm .

 

The California Department of Insurance is here to help you, your family, and your business during this extraordinary time.

SUPPLIER DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

A 10-Point Small-Business Survival Plan for Dealing With the Coronavirus

Originally Published: March 20, 2020

It’s safe to say that this current crisis is like none other faced by small business owners in the recent past, and it’s certainly daunting trying to tackle all of the unique issues it presents. Regrettably, the predominant voice we hear hasn't offered a lot of specific steps to take or advice on how to save our business, let along come out on top.

Here are 10 issues and ideas to address with detailed considerations and action items that might make the difference in being able to keep your doors open and calm your employees and customers.

To learn more about the suggested ideas, read the full article.

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ABOUT MARK KOHLER

GOVERNING BOARD DIVERSITY SPOTLIGHT

Leading Through Crisis

Written by: Gaurav Gupta, Kotter Blog

The Coronavirus pandemic is a reminder of how rapidly things can change and, for businesses, a reminder of the need to be able to move with speed and agility. For C-suite executives leading through crisis, the challenges in these highly uncertain environments are many and there is no playbook about how to respond. When the context is changing exponentially, it is almost impossible to time your response appropriately – too early and you may contribute to alarmist panic. Too late and your complacency could have significant consequences. Achieving the right intensity and tone for the response are equally difficult. In addition to making the right decisions for the specific situation, leaders also need to provide confidence, reduce anxiety, and generally help employees function with some level of normalcy.

The role of the C-Suite is particularly important because during times of uncertainty and crisis, people look to authority figures to provide direction. In these times, senior management might find that even the most self-directed individuals at different levels in the organization – those who can normally be counted on to provide leadership and direction for their peers – are more likely to wait for direction from the top. The C-Suite executives have to not only provide this direction but do so in an empathetic manner that clearly demonstrates an understanding of the challenges whilst also projecting confidence about recovering from the crisis.

Read the entire article on leading through crisis available on the Kotter blog.

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ABOUT KOTTER

APRIL/ MAY

There are no diversity events currently scheduled for April or May 2020 due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Please continue to check the Events Calendar on the Diversity website as we will update events as they are scheduled and/or rescheduled.

To submit a request to add your Supplier Diversity or Governing Board Diversity-related event, please contact us at: diversity@insurance.ca.gov .

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The Insurance Diversity Initiative was established in 2011 to address diversity issues within California's $310 billion insurance industry. Specifically, these efforts are meant to increase procurement from California’s diverse suppliers, as well as to increase diversity amongst insurer governing boards. To accomplish these goals, the Department conducts outreach, creates partnerships, hosts events, and most importantly, administers surveys to collect and publicly disseminate information about the state of diversity in the insurance industry.