ALVAREZ v. ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY

An insurer's unexplained failure to provide notice as soon as is reasonably possible precludes an effective disclaimer even though the policyholder's own notice of the incident to its insurer is untimely ( see First Financial Ins. Co. v. Jetco Contr. Corp., 1 N.Y.3d 64; Hartford Ins. Co. v. County of Nassau, 46 N.Y.2d 1028, 1029). Here, defendant's eight-month delay in disclaiming coverage is unreasonable as a matter of law ( see First Financial Ins. and Hartford Ins., supra), and hence plaintiff should have been granted summary judgment in the amount of the underlying default judgment.

THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.