Related Claims Are in the Eye of the Beholder

Under the terms of typical professional liability and directors’ and officers’ insurance policies, multiple claims that arise out of interrelated wrongful acts are treated as a single claim deemed to have been first made at the time the first of the related claims was made against the insured. Whether the treatment of multiple related claims as a single claim benefits the insured or the insurer depends on the circumstances. Consequently, you may find an insured or an insurer on either side of a related-claims dispute. In this New York Law Journal article, SRZ partner Howard B. Epstein and special counsel Theodore A. Keyes examine recent Southern District case law addressing disputes over whether separate claims constitute interrelated claims under the terms of an insurance policy.