Salem – The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services issued civil penalties against Allstate Insurance Company and Root Insurance Company for violating the department’s COVID-19 emergency orders. The department’s Division of Financial Regulation handled the enforcement of the emergency orders.

Both insurers violated the state’s insurance emergency orders by either canceling or nonrenewing policies held by Oregonians while the emergency orders were in effect.

“We issued the COVID-19 emergency orders to provide Oregonians some financial relief and peace of mind during the early stages of the pandemic,” said Andrew Stolfi, insurance commissioner and director of DCBS. “Violations of our emergency orders are taken seriously and we were pleased to see both insurers take steps to reinstate their customers.”   

The emergency orders were in effect from March 25 to Sept. 20, 2020. They required insurance companies to provide grace periods for paying premiums and prevented companies from canceling or nonrenewing Oregonians’ policies.

Allstate was fined $50,000 for issuing cancellations or nonrenewals for nonpayment of premium on 84 Oregon insurance policies. Root Insurance was fined $10,000 after its computer system automatically sent notices of nonrenewal to 100 people after their driving frequencies decreased. Both companies made efforts to reinstate the policies.

Several COVID-19 resources remain in effect for Oregonians. For details on COVID-19 rules and resources on health insurance and financial services, such as mortgages, visit the division’s COVID-19 consumer page or call 888-877-4894 (toll-free) for more information.

The department is also managing the State of Oregon COVID-19 Temporary Paid Leave Program. The program is available to people who need to quarantine or isolate because of COVID-19 exposure or are experiencing symptoms and need a medical diagnosis, but do not qualify for COVID-19-related paid sick leave. Visit the COVID-19 Temporary Paid Leave Program page or call 833-685-0850 (toll-free) for more information.

For more information on the division’s insurance and financial services enforcement actions, check out its quarterly summaries page – Taking Action.

###

About DCBS: The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, visit www.dcbs.oregon.gov. 

About Oregon DFR: The Division of Financial Regulation is part of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, Oregon’s largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. Visit www.dcbs.oregon.gov and http://dfr.oregon.gov/Pages/index.aspx.