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Disclaimer Based Upon Insured’s Non-Cooperation Was Timely—Must Allow Longer Period to Demonstrate Diligence In Seeking Cooperation

In a full-fledged opinion by Judge Pigott, the Court of Appeals determined that the insurers disclaimer based upon the insured’s failure to cooperate with the investigation was timely and enforceable:

The question whether an insurer disclaimed as soon as reasonably possible is necessarily case-specific. In some cases, very different from this one, the justification for disclaimer is “readily ascertainable from the face of the complaint in the underlying action” … or “all relevant facts supporting . . . a disclaimer [are] immediately apparent . . . upon . . . receipt of notice of the accident” … . In such cases, a disclaimer must be made rapidly. The present appeal, on the other hand, involves disclaimer for noncooperation by an insured. A determination as to whether such a disclaimer was made within a reasonable time is more complex because “an insured's noncooperative attitude is often not readily apparent”… . We have emphasized that “insurers must be encouraged to disclaim for noncooperation only after it is clear that further reasonable attempts to elicit their insured's cooperation will be futile” … .The primary reason that we allow a longer period for disclaimer for noncooperation lies in a well-established principle of our case law, which is intended to facilitate the full compensation of injured victims suing for damages. This is the requirement that an insurer may not properly disclaim for noncooperation unless it has satisfied its burden, described in the precedent as “a heavy one indeed,” of showing “that it acted diligently in seeking to bring about the insured's co-operation; that the efforts employed by the insurer were reasonably calculated to obtain the insurer's co-operation; and that the attitude of the insured, after his co-operation was sought, was one of willful and avowed obstruction”… . Country-Wide Insurance Company v Preferred Trucking Services Corp, 21, CtApp 2-18-14

 

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