Dear [your State Rep and/or State Senator],
I am writing in support of SD 1845 introduced by Senator Diana Dizoglio and HD 3170 introduced by Representative Dylan Fernandes addressing the issue of business interruption insurance. To date, when most small businesses have had their operations interrupted in some way, insurance companies have been aggressively denying claims, saying their insurance agreements were not meant to cover pandemic shutdowns. However, many policyholders argue that it was not the virus that forced their closures, but state orders did. And this should trigger additional coverage common to many policies called “civil authority action.” The legislation introduced by Senator Dizoglio and Representative Fernandes seeks to clarify this and compel insurance companies to honor legitimate claims.
As you are aware the Covid-19 global pandemic has severely impacted the small business community on Cape Cod and throughout Massachusetts. Although an effort by the state and federal governments to provide financial support has been helpful, for many businesses it has not begun to cover the losses they have faced due to this unprecedented crisis that has been brought to their doors through no fault of their own.
The impact of reduced patronage and income on an individual and business level has been bad enough, but those losses will have a broader impact on our state economy and be felt by every local community across the Commonwealth.
Your support for these efforts and our small business community are appreciated.
Sincerely,
[You name, affiliation]
