MOUNT VERNON HSG. v. PUB. SERV. MUT. INS

ORDERED that the order is affirmed insofar as appealed from, with costs.

An insurance carrier must give timely notice of a disclaimer "as soon as is reasonably possible" after it first learns of the accident or grounds for disclaimer of liability (see, Insurance Law § 3420[d]). It is the insurance carrier's burden to explain the delay in notifying the insured or injured party of its disclaimer, and the reasonableness of any such delay must be determined from the time the insurance carrier was aware of sufficient facts to disclaim coverage (see, Prudential Prop. Cas. Ins. v. Persaud, 256 A.D.2d 502 ). Furthermore, the issue of whether a disclaimer was unreasonably delayed is generally a question of fact (see, Crowningshield v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 255 A.D.2d 813, 815 ; State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co. v. Clift, 249 A.D.2d 800 ; Murphy v. Hanover Ins. Co., 239 A.D.2d 323, 324 ). We agree with the Supreme Court that there is a question of fact as to whether the defendant's disclaimer was unreasonably delayed (see, Crowningshield v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., supra).

S. MILLER, J.P., THOMPSON, KRAUSMAN, FLORIO, and SCHMIDT, JJ., concur.