The department has stated that it expects carriers to take into consideration the severity and unprecedented nature of the February 11-19 winter event when working with insureds.

While most policies have provisions that require insured's to take reasonable care to maintain heat or shut off the water in order to avoid frozen pipes, all losses must be based on the circumstances of the claim. The department encourages carriers to consider multiple factors that affected insureds and their ability to protect their property, including the following:

• Frequency and length of power outages that prevented insureds from maintaining heat –  this was beyond their control.
• Renters not having access to water mains or having any control over the power or water supplies to their units.
• Differing advice from multiple sources regarding best practices on caring for pipes during freezing weather may have caused confusion.
• Icy conditions may have created a risk of injury to shut off the water or restricted access to the water main.

The insurance code prohibits unfair claim settlement practices, and these include "failing to attempt in good faith to effectuate a prompt, fair, and equitable settlement" once liability of a claim has become reasonably clear. The department may pursue enforcement action against any carriers that fail to comply.

The department also requests that when carriers are denying losses, that the carrier provides the insured with information about available federal assistance, including the FEMA application website, disasterassistance.gov and FEMA Disaster Assistance Helpline at 800-621-3361.