| BALTIMORE – In light of Gov. Larry Hogan’s Executive Order declaring a State of Emergency in Howard County as a result of the flooding in Ellicott City, Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, Jr. today encouraged property and casualty insurers to provide reasonable accommodations or grace periods for payment to policyholders living in affected areas.
Commissioner Redmer also temporarily lifted insurance restrictions on when prescription medications can be refilled at pharmacies within the state for impacted Ellicott City residents. He also temporarily lifted restrictions on the replacement of durable medical equipment or supplies, eyeglasses and dentures for policyholders in the Howard County zip codes of 21041, 21042 and 21043.
Commissioner Redmer issued the following bulletins today:
• Bulletin 16-23 encourages insurers to provide reasonable accommodations to policyholders living in affected areas to avoid cancellations for personal automobile insurance, homeowners insurance and other personal lines of insurance, commercial or life and health insurance.
• Bulletin 16-24 waives time restrictions on prescription medication refills, and payments to pharmacies are authorized for at least a 30-day supply of any prescription medication, regardless of the date of the last refill. This bulletin also waives any restrictions on the timeframe for the replacement of durable medical equipment or supplies, eyeglasses, and dentures. The emergency regulation only applies to those health insurance plans regulated by the Maryland Insurance Administration. Federal plans such as Medicare and Tricare, as well as self-insured employee plans and Medicaid, are not affected by this emergency action. The regulation will remain in place for the duration of the State of Emergency. This regulatory action impacts the following zip codes in Howard County: 21041, 21042 and 21043.
The Maryland Insurance Administration’s Rapid Response team is available to assist individuals impacted by the storm. The team can be reached at 410-468-2340 or 1-800-492-6116. Staff will also be at the Disaster Assistance Center set up for this weather related event.
About the Maryland Insurance Administration
The Maryland Insurance Administration is an independent State agency charged with regulating Maryland’s $28.5 billion insurance industry. For more information about the Insurance Administration, please visit www.insurance.maryland.gov or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MDInsuranceAdmin or Twitter at @MD_Insurance.
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