Publications

Agency Opinion Seeks to Impose Duty to Defend on D&O Insurer

March 6, 2009
New York Law Journal

An opinion letter by the New York State Superintendent of Insurance asserts that Director and Officer ("D&O") liability insurance policies issued in New York must provide a duty to defend the insured. If this controversial position of the Superintendent of Insurance becomes law, it will drastically alter the defense provisions in standard D&O policies. For now, however, the breadth of the letter’s impact remains to be seen, as it is not binding on the courts, and its rationale and conclusion have been called into question by many insurance law practitioners.