Workplace Health and Safety – Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance

Oswald’s Risk Consulting and Loss Control team is diligently monitoring and serving the evolving needs of our commercial clients during this pandemic. Please check out the following resources to respond to the issues at hand and prepare for the road ahead.

 Contact us or click to call: 1.855.4OSWALD

Clients: COVID-19 Resources Now Available in the Oswald OnTrack Library. Please click here to access Oswald OnTrack.

Risk Advisory Alerts

• OSHA’s  COVID-19 Enforcement Response Plan will be effective on May 26, 2020 and will remain in effect until further notice. Read an Oswald Advisory in this topic.
• OSHA’s interim recordkeeping requirements for COVID-19 cases provides most employers with relief until May 26th, 2020. Read an Oswald Advisory on this topic.
• OSHA compliance officers will be evaluating employers efforts to determine if COVID-19 cases are work related. Read More.
• OSHA has revised their Interim Enforcement Response Plan for COVID-19.  The Enforcement Memo, which goes into effect on May 26th, provides guidance to compliance officers for handling COVID-19-related complaints, referrals, and severe illness reports. Read OSHA’s Enforcement Memo.
• OSHA expects business to have pandemic plans in accordance with respective exposure levels. Review OSHA’s Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19.

Several carriers are starting to inquire about customer pandemic plans. This trend is expecting to continue as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

It is also expected that many companies will begin to require business partners to have documented pandemic plans as a term of doing business.

Oswald’s Loss Control Team is available to help clients navigate OSHA regulations and guidance relative to COVID-19, as well as develop robust Back to Business and Pandemic Plans. Click here to learn more about Oswald’s ability to assist clients in their Back to Business efforts.

Public Health Information and Business Resource Websites

• The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides the latest information about COVID-19
• CDC guidance for business provides employers and workers with recommended SARS-CoV-2 infection prevention strategies to implement in a wide variety of workplaces
• CDC travel warnings
• FEMA Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response Page
• Addressing PPE Needs in Non-Healthcare Setting – FEMA
• U.S. Department of State (DOS) travel advisories
• The OSHA COVID-19 webpage offers information specifically for workers and employers
• Aerosol Transmissible Disease Standard
• Manufacturing Best Practices COVID-19 – MAGNET The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network

Client Claims and Further Assistance

Our claim department is staffed and available to assist with any insurance claims you need to make. We are working remotely with full access to your policies. Please continue to report claims as you normally would. Insurance coverage for claims from COVID-19 is very fact-specific and depends on your claim scenario and the terms of your insurance policies. We will help you to understand the specifics of your individual circumstances and collaborate on the best approach to move forward.

Insurance Premium Flexibility

If you need insurance premium payment flexibility, please contact your Oswald team member for guidance. We will make sure you are clear on the payment flexibility to which you are eligible.

General Guidance:

 Health Insurance Premiums Grace Period

• The Ohio Department of Insurance is ordering all insurers in Ohio to allow employers to offer employees a grace period for insurance premiums.

• The grace period must provide the option of deferring payments interest-free for up to 60 calendar days from the original premium due date.

• Health insurers must allow employers to continue covering employees even if the employees would otherwise become ineligible for insurance because of a decrease in work hours.

Property & Casualty Insurance Premium Payment Flexibility

• If you are seeking insurance premium payment flexibility, click here to view full details of the Ohio Department of Insurance bulletin for information on the 60-day grace period for insurance premium payments.

• For Ohio clients, premium bills will continue to be sent, however, carriers are waiving any late fees that would typically be assessed, and you cannot be canceled for non-payment of premiums during the 60 day grace period, which will end when the Ohio state of emergency has expired.

• For clients in all other states, each P&C carrier has their own nuances of how they are handling premium flexibility, and all carriers are complying with state-specific requirements on insurance payments.  If you seek payment assistance, please contact your client management team for guidance and specifics of the position of your insurance carrier. We will make sure you are clear on the payment flexibility to which you are eligible.

Ohio Workers’ Compensation Payment Deferral

• Employers will be permitted to defer insurance premium installment payments for March, April, and May until June 1. For more information visit the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation 

Note: This communication is for informational purposes only. Although every reasonable effort is made to present current and accurate information, Oswald makes no guarantees of any kind and cannot be held liable for any outdated or incorrect information.