If you can't afford to repay your mortgage or loan due to COVID-19 you should contact your lender as early as possible and discuss what options are available to you. We have engaged with banks and other lenders on the introduction of "payment breaks" for up to six months on mortgages and other loans for customers, including their business customers, experiencing financial difficulties as a result of COVID-19.

A payment break is where you agree with your lender to postpone or reduce your loan repayments for an agreed period of time. Payments on business loans may be deferred for up to six months for customers facing financial difficulties due to COVID-19. This can give you breathing space in these difficult times when you are experiencing financial difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. You can apply for a payment break by contacting your lender.

We have set out our expectations of how regulated insurance firms should treat you in light of the significant economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency.

We have written to the Chairs and CEOs of both life and general insurance firms requiring them to take account of the challenging situation in which many of you find yourselves and to put forward consumer-focused solutions for insurance payment breaks, policy rebates and claims in light of the emergency.

In relation to insurance claims, firms must ensure that any settlement offer made to you is fair, takes into account all relevant factors and represents the firm’s best estimate of your reasonable entitlement under the policy. Firms must ensure that they handle claims effectively and properly. Although we expect that most policy wordings are clear in terms of what cover is provided and what is excluded, where there is a doubt about the meaning of a term, the interpretation most favourable to you should prevail. Firms must ensure that claims are appropriately assessed and where there is insurance cover in place that your claim is accepted and paid promptly.

Where a claim is made because a business has closed as a result of a Government direction due to contagious or infectious disease, the Central Bank is of the view that that the recent Government advice to close a business in the context of COVID-19 should be treated as a direction. This is a view that has also been set out by the Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform. Firms must ensure that claims are appropriately assessed and where there is insurance cover in place that claims are accepted and paid promptly.

The Central Bank is working constructively with all the sectors it regulates, recognising the challenges they face to maintain continuity of business and provision of service to customers in light of the global public health emergency caused by COVID-19.

Our core focus is on ensuring that the financial system can continue to provide services to households and businesses at this difficult time. We also expect regulated firms to have appropriate contingency plans in place to be able to deal with major operational events should they occur.

The retail banks and credit unions have business continuity plans, including contingency plans, in place on how to assist you if there are branch closures due to business disruption.

We expect banks to have alternative arrangements in place so that they can continue to provide services to you, including information on how to access banking or credit union services if some branches or offices have to close. We will continue to work with banks and credit unions to ensure that where they have to take the decision to close certain branches, that small businesses who do not have online facilities will be able to avail of an alternative means to access their account. We expect firms to communicate with you to let you know how you can access their services.

We expect regulated firms to have appropriate contingency plans in place to be able to deal with major operational events, should they occur, and we are engaged with firms across the financial system to ensure that firms are responding effectively to the evolving situation.

We expect banks and credit unions to have alternative arrangements in place so that they can continue to provide services to you, including information on how to access banking and credit union services if some branches or offices have to close. We will continue to work with banks and credit unions to ensure that where they have to take the decision to close certain offices or branches, that small businesses who do not have online facilities will be able to avail of an alternative means to access their account. We expect firms to communicate with you to let you know how you can access their services.