Coronavirus Update

We wanted to reach out today and assure you that BIC is monitoring the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation closely and we are working to ensure we meet the needs of our clients as well as provide for the health and safety of our employees. We realize this health situation has already been disruptive to many businesses across the globe and wanted to share facts about what we’re doing to support both our clients and employees.

As part of our preparation for the impact of coronavirus, we are sharing an overview of our plans and guidance as it relates to our employee and client relationships, which are a critical piece of our operations to help us provide good service and knowledge of insurance to our community.

Brownell Insurance Center, INC. (BIC) Preparedness

As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to circulate around the world, BIC is being mindful of all we can do to stay safe and healthy and minimize potential disruption to our ability to provide service for our clients. BIC is focused on the safety and mobility of our employees and clients. The continuity of our operations, especially in areas related to service and sales, we are working together with other employers and the Center For Disease Control (CDC) to identify and manage risks, including outreach to other local businesses to ensure their plans for this situation complement ours. We’re also coordinating with NH public health authorities and are ready, with contingency plans in place, should the virus continue to spread.

Please know we are closely following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC). These guidelines can be found at – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

For our insurance agency…

• We encourage clients to handle their insurance needs as much as possible in a non-touch way.  Over the phone, we should be able to handle most of your needs or concerns. We will be manning our phones Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM. For the next several weeks, we will be closed on Saturdays to help limit our employees’ exposure to the public.
• If one of our employees becomes ill, please understand we will need to consider possibly curtailing our office hours further. We will endeavor to service our client’s needs in a timely manner.
• If coming into the office is necessary, we would request that you use hand sanitizer upon your arrival and limit any personal contact. This is for your safety as well as ours. Our Hampton office will be closed for the next couple of weeks. All Hampton insurance needs will be handled over the phone at 603-437-1992.
• If premium payments need to be made, we are able to take credit cards payments over the phone. Cash is discouraged at this time, but will still be accepted. Checks for premiums can be left in the mailbox outside our Londonderry office.
• Should one of our employees contract COVID-19 we will be sure to inform other employees and our clients, who have visited the office of possible exposure to the virus but will do so in a way that maintains ADA and HIPAA confidentiality requirements.
• All clients will be required to sign in when they visit the office, so we can maintain a record of the people we will need to notify if the virus has been contracted in our office.

Our employees have been counseled as to how insurance handles the COVID-19 claims, so they can help support our clients with specific coronavirus questions and concerns, including Workmen’s Compensation and Business Disruption claims. Clients can call BIC to get helpful insurance information regarding COVID-19.

Our Priority

Our highest priorities are to protect employees and preserve our ability to best service you, our valued client. As the situation evolves, we know we will be investing in our capabilities, equipment and support plus reacting in real-time to make sure we are here supporting our employees and clients through this. Be vigilant and cautious with your health and we hope to get back to business as usual soon. Let’s work together to maintain our strong community that can depend on each other.

Our thoughts go out to those that are affected dramatically by this virus. We will continue to pray for those that are at an elevated risk, those that will experience the loss of much needed wages and all of those that will experience hardship from this global issue. Hopefully, we all will be able to breathe a sigh of relief soon. Please take care.

Sincerely,

The Management and Staff of Brownell Insurance Center, INC.