,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #gdab ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,june #bi1 #bjbj ,mr4 ,thompson of ,california introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,financial ,services ,a ,,bill ,to establish a temporary voluntary program for support of insurers providing business interruption insurance coverage during the ,,covid-#ai pandemic1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,business ,interruption ,relief ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,findings and purposes 7a7 ,findings ,the ,congress finds that-- 7#a7 mandatory civil authority shutdowns as a result of the coronarvirus disease #bjai 7,,covid-#ai7 have adversely impacted businesses throughout the ,united ,states2 7#b7 the ,american economy relies in part upon an investment in and expectation of insurance benefits that back business assets and the workforce2 7#c7 many businesses have paid policy premiums for business interruption coverage and1 in particular1 for coverage for civil authority shutdowns of businesses2 7#d7 many businesses that purchased business interruption coverage and coverage for civil authority shutdowns did so in the expectation that insurance would protect a temporary shutdown of their workforce1 prevent layoffs and furloughs1 and allow an orderly restart of operations2 and 7#e7 ,state laws mandate an orderly and prompt payment of first party insurance claims and insurers have claim management resources with the expertise and skills to timely manage claims payment and distribution of funds according to expected and relied upon guidelines and procedures that policyholders had the expectation to receive4 7b7 ,purposes ,the purposes of this ,act are-- 7#a7 to establish a program to encourage and provide support for insurers who timely pay claims under business interruption coverage to policyholders adversely affected by civil authority shutdowns resulting from the ,,covid-#ai pandemic2 and 7#b7 to establish the program in a manner that ensures that-- 7,a7 carriers that sold policies that cover business interruption losses for ,,covid-#ai do not receive any ,federal windfall2 and 7,b7 carriers that sold policies that expressly exclude coverage for a virus or pandemic for ,,covid-#ai can avoid costly litigation with policyholders1 and policyholders may receive policy benefits to compensate for government shutdown and business interruption4 #c4 ,public_/,private partnership business interruption insurance relief program for ,,covid-#ai 7a7 ,establishment ,there is established in the ,department of the ,treasury the ,business ,interruption ,relief ,program4 7b7 ,voluntary ,participation in the ,program on the part of an insurer shall be voluntary at the option of the insurer4 7c7 ,eligible policies ,to be eligible to participate in the ,program1 an insurer shall have1 as of the date of initial participation in the ,program1 one or more outstanding and existing policies of insurance issued to a policyholder for business interruption insurance coverage that-- 7#a7 expressly include coverage for losses during any period of time that any civil authority shutdown as a result of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic is in effect2 and 7#b7 expressly exclude coverage for a virus4 7d7 ,assistance 7#a7 ,reimbursement for payment of claims ,under the ,program1 the ,secretary shall provide financial assistance to reimburse any participating insurer that voluntarily pays benefits under an eligible policy for ,,covid-#ai losses1 thereby waiving the exclusion referred to in subsection 7c77#b71 in the amount of-- 7,a7 the benefit to be paid in accordance with all terms of the policy2 plus 7,b7 any expenses incurred by the participating insurer relating to paying such claim4 7#b7 ,prohibition ,the ,program shall provide no benefit or reimbursement for an insurer's payment and claim expenses for benefits paid under any policy for business interruption coverage that does not expressly exclude coverage for a virus4 7#c7 ,treatment of rights and duties 7,a7 ,policyholders ,policyholders under policies for which reimbursement is provided under the ,program shall retain all first party rights to policies for business interruption insurance coverage4 7,b7 ,state law ,participation in the ,program by an insurer shall not supersede or replace any rights of good faith and fair duty under ,state insurance law4 7#d7 ,compliance ,the ,secretary shall take any such actions as may be necessary1 before providing any assistance pursuant to paragraph 7#a7 to a participating insurer1 that the participating insurer makes payment to policyholders in compliance with the terms and conditions of the policies referred to in subsection 7c74 7e7 ,limitation on assistance for a participating insurer ,the ,secretary shall limit the amount of assistance provided for a participating insurer under the ,program under this section according to the limits of the eligible policies involved4 7f7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section1 the following definitions shall apply3 7#a7 ,business interruption insurance coverage ,the term business interruption insurance coverage means property and casualty insurance coverage provided or made available for losses resulting from periods of suspended business operations1 whether provided under broader coverage or separately4 7#b7 ,civil authority shutdown ,the term civil authority shutdown means forced closure of businesses1 or evacuation1 by mandate1 law1 or order of any ,state or local government or governmental officer or agency4 7#c7 ,,covid-#ai losses ,the term ,,covid-#ai losses means for losses resulting from business interruption due to a civil authority shutdown as a result of the ,,covid-#ai pandemic4 7#d7 ,eligible policy ,the term eligible policy means a policy for business interruption insurance coverage described in section #c7;c74 7#e7 ,insurer ,the term insurer has the meaning given such term in section #ajb of the ,terrorism ,risk ,insurance ,act of #bjjb 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fgja note74 7#f7 ,participating insurer ,the term participating insurer means an insurer that-- 7,a7 has voluntarily elected1 in accordance with such procedures and requirements as the ,secretary shall establish1 to participate in the ,program2 and 7,b7 is in compliance with the requirements under this section for participation in the ,program4 7#g7 ,program ,the term ,program means the ,business ,interruption ,relief ,program established under this section4 7g7 ,regulations ,the ,secretary shall issue any regulations necessary to carry out the ,program4 7h7 ,funding ,there is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for providing financial assistance under the ,program to participating insurers4