On October 31, 2012, North Carolina’s Commissioner of Insurance issued Bulletin 12-B-07, which provides an expanded list of counties previously designated (by Executive Order 129 issued on October 26, 2012) as in a “State of Emergency.” When a particular county is so designated, the Bulletin indicates that N.C.G.S § 58-2-46 is triggered, which provides the following, in relevant part:

• Any policy of insurance that requires the filing of a proof of loss within a certain period of time after the loss “shall be stayed for the time period not exceeding the expiration of the disaster proclamation or declaration and all renewals of the proclamation or 45 days, whichever is less.”
• A deferral period for payment of premiums and “any statute, rule, or other policy or contract provision that imposes a time limit on an insurer, insured, claimant or customer to perform any act during the time period covered by the proclamation or declaration . . . .”
• For “separate windstorm policies written by an insurer other than the Underwriting Association, losses shall be adjusted by the insurer that issued the property insurance, and not by the insurer that issued the windstorm policy. The insurer that issued the windstorm policy shall reimburse the insurer that issued the property insurance for reasonable expenses incurred by that insurer in adjusting the windstorm losses.”

We will post any further bulletins relevant to Hurricane Sandy as they are issued.