STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Paycheck Protection Plan application process opens up today, April 3, offering emergency loans to businesses that have been shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic.

Businessmen should head to the bank as soon as possible, said Mark Balcos, owner of Wood River Insurance.

“First come, first serve so apply quickly,” he said. “Small business owners should get in touch with their small business banker and apply for this loan.”

Balcos has been inundated with calls from local business owners who operate paycheck to paycheck and are clamoring to learn if there is any insurance or something that will help them keep their businesses afloat.

Unfortunately, he said, there is no insurance policy that covers losses caused by bacteria or viruses. Insurance companies will usually cover losses if a business is ordered to close by the government but there must be physical damage to the building.

“It’s so frustrating to see businesses that live month to month, paycheck to paycheck, not getting the money they need right now,” he said. “Many will be shut down if they don’t have a reserve—and many do not. We’re in a war with an unseen enemy and I think insurance companies should step up. They’re one of the wealthiest industries in the world and they’re on the sidelines right now.”

The Paycheck Protection Program offers $350 million to help small businesses and nonprofits.

It provides 100 percent federally guaranteed loans to small businesses with fewer than 500 employees and self-employed business people.

Loans may be forgiven if borrowers maintain their payrolls and continue rent during the crisis or restore their payrolls afterwards.

They must have had supply chain disruptions, staffing challenges, a decrease in sales or customers or been shuttered.

Eligible expenses include payroll support, the interest on mortgage payments, rent and utilities. The program is funded during the covered period, which runs from Feb. 15 through June 30.

Loans can be up to 2.5 times the borrower’s average monthly payroll costs, not to exceed $10 million.

Business owners will be should have detailed payroll documentation for the last year as well as such entity documents as Articles of Incorporation.

Nearly 33,000 new Idaho unemployment claims were filed in the fourth week of March alone.