Insurance, Tax, and Mortgage Relief, and Federal Economic Impact Payments

Insurance

As a result of COVID-19s impact on businesses and residents, the State Insurance Commissioner ordered that insurers to make an initial premium refund for the months of March and April to all adversely impacted California policyholders in the following lines of insurance as quickly as practicable, but no later than 120 from April 13, 2020.

  • Private passenger automobile insurance
  • Commercial automobile insurance
  • Workers compensation insurance
  • Commercial liability insurance
  • Commercial multi-peril insurance
  • Medical malpractice insurance
  • Any other line of coverage where the measures of risk have become substantially overstated as a result of the pandemic

Taxes

While property tax payment deadlines are set in state law and cannot be altered locally, the Santa Cruz County Treasurer-Tax Collector has the legal right to and will consider waiving penalties and interest charges for late payments when due to "circumstances beyond the taxpayer’s control." Each case is considered individually. For frequently asked questions (FAQs) on April property tax payments, go to the Santa Cruz County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s website at http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Departments/TaxCollector.aspx.

As tax-day approaches and both movement and finances may be limited, you may be concerned about your ability to file or pay taxes. The good news is that the federal government extended the tax filing deadline to July 15th.

In California, the Franchise Tax Board extended the deadline for filing state tax returns to July 15th, 90 days after the original April 15th deadline.

Mortgage Relief 

If you are impacted by COVID-19, many financial institutions including banks and credit unions, will offer mortgage-payment forbearances for up to 90 and in some cases, 120 days which allows you to reduce or delay your monthly payment.

In addition, participating financial institutions will:

  • Give you a streamlined process for requesting forbearance for COVID-19 related reasons, supported by available documentation
  • Confirm approval of and terms of forbearance program
  • Provide you the opportunity to extend your forbearance agreement if you continue to experience hardship due to COVID-19
  • waive or refund mortgage related late fees and other fees including early CD withdrawals
  • not foreclose any properties for 60 days
  • homeowners taking advantage of these programs will not see any negative credit score ratings

We encourage you to contact your financial institutions directly to inquire which programs they are offering.

Federal Economic Impact Payments

The Federal government is issuing Economic Impact payments to support individuals and families through this crisis. Details are outlined below:

  • Individuals making up to $75,000 ($150,000 for married workers) will receive payments of $1,200 with an additional $500 payment per minor child
  • Taxpayers who filed tax returns for either 2019 or 2018 will automatically receive a Economic Impact payments via direct deposit
  • If the US Treasury does not have your direct deposit information, you will be able to enter it into a web-based portal within coming weeks
  • For more information please click this link