Judge: Insurer’s Delay In Denying Coverage Of Sexual Assault Claim Is Unreasonable

Mealey's (March 29, 2018, 8:37 AM EDT) -- NEW YORK — A New York federal judge on March 26 found that a commercial general liability insurer’s unexplained delay of at least 15 months between the date it learned of the grounds to deny coverage of an underlying sexual assault suit and the date it actually denied coverage is unreasonable under New York Insurance Law Section 3420(d)(2), concluding that the insurer cannot invoke the policy’s abuse or molestation exclusion (Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. v. Intrepid Group, LLC, et al., No. 16-7928, S.D. N.Y., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50744)....