The Big I Virginia Summer 2020

PRESIDENT & CEO
ROBERT N.
BRADSHAW, JR., MAM
rbradshaw@iiav.com
IIAV’S COVID-19 WEBSITE DESIGNED TO
ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS
It’s a brave new world
As I write this column, the IIAV staff has been working
from our homes for almost a month now. It’s certainly
a new learning experience for all of us and I trust that we
have been able to respond to your needs and questions.
I have to admit, I wasn’t exactly sure how this was all
going to work out and what the time working would be
like while being at home. My wife – who generally works
from home – complains sometimes that while she’s home,
some people think there is no problem just calling to talk
and catch up.
I will say that has not been my experience and I would say
that from my perspective it has been like drinking from a
firehose turned on at full blast. A real awakening was on a
Friday when the governor was holding a press conference
talking about Executive Order 55 and before the press
conference was even over, members were calling asking
if we were still classified as essential businesses.
I believe that has been the experience of all of our staff
and likely as a result of our delineating who was going to
cover what calls from our membership. Functionally every
staff member had/has a critical responsibility to ensure
that our members receive the support and assistance
they need … and quickly.
Each day brings on almost a different topic as the
COVID-19 crisis progresses: Are we an essential business,
what about coverage for employees who deliver food,
how is Work Comp going to be handled, how do I
handle BI claims, how do we organize our work-fromhome
policies/technology, commercial property vacancy
concerns, how are companies responding to decline
in risk, what about proposed legislation in New Jersey
(Massachusetts, Louisiana, etc.)? And that’s precisely
how we built out our COVID-19 website. We figured if
someone asked the question, others probably want to
know as well. So, we have categorized the questions/
answers to be subject specific:
10 THE BIG VIRGINIA SUMMER 2020