One of the most relied upon categories of an “uninsured motor vehicle” is “an insured vehicle where the insurer disclaims liability or denies coverage.” See N.Y. Ins. L. §3420(f)(1); see also Regulation 35-D’s Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Endorsement—New York, 11 NYCRR §60-2.3 (I)(c)(3)(iii) (“The term ‘uninsured motor vehicle’ means a motor vehicle that, through its ownership, maintenance or use, results in bodily injury to an insured, and for which: … there is a bodily injury liability insurance coverage or bond applicable to such motor vehicle at the time of the accident, but: … the insurer writing such insurance coverage or bond denies coverage … .”); Vanguard Ins. v. Polchlopek, 18 N.Y.2d 376 (1966) (“an insurance policy which is disclaimed subsequent to an accident is not a policy applicable at the time of the accident”).

In order to protect an injured party who may be vitally affected by a denial or disclaimer by the tortfeasor’s insurer, the legislature encouraged the expeditious resolution of liability claims by providing, in Ins. L. §3420(d)(2), that all liability insurers must “give written notice as soon as is reasonably possible of such disclaimer of liability or denial of coverage to the insured and the injured person or any other claimant.” As explained by the court in Bovis Lend Lease LMB v. Royal Surpluys Lines Insurance, 27 A.D.3d 84, 92 (1st Dept. 2005): “It is clear that the notice requirement of section 3420(d) is designed to protect the insured and the injured person or other claimant against the risk, posed by a delay in learning the insurer’s position, of expending energy and resources in an ultimately futile attempt to recover damages from an insurer until it is too late to pursue them successfully.”

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