NY Defendants Must Provide Automatic, Early Disclosure Of Insurance Information

Defendants in New York are now required to automatically disclose expansive insurance information at the beginning of a lawsuit.

Beyond just providing evidence of an insurance policy, the new version of the discovery rule CPLR 3101(f) now requires disclosures such as the contact information of an insurer’s claim adjuster and information about whether attorney’s fees have eroded the policy limits.

Moreover, now a defendant and the defendant’s attorney have to certify by affidavit or affirmation that the insurance disclosure is accurate.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Comprehensive Insurance Disclosure Act on December 31, 2021.

The Act amends CPLR 3101(f), which previously contemplated that within the scope of discovery defendants could be asked to disclose the existence and contents of an insurance policy that may be called upon to satisfy a judgment, but did not require affirmative or unrequested disclosure, nor much of the information now required.