Posted On: July 30, 2008, 11:23 am CDT

Posted By: Steven R. Sundheim, Esq.

As an insurance defense attorney, this legislation is overdue to protect both insured defendants and also plaintiffs from the many unfair outcomes that I have seen over the past 5-8 yrs (more frequently as time has passed) since a single court decision in NY held that a delay less than a month was a basis for denial of coverage. Often the late notice defense has saved one insurer to the detriment of others who end up having no way to pass on statutory liability under the Labor Law to the insurers and defendants who were actually at fault or who agreed to contractually indemnify others - making many insurers also fearful of writing insurance in the NY market.