MATTER OF COLONIAL PENN INS. CO. v. PEVZNER

ORDERED that the order is reversed, on the law, with costs, and the petition is granted.

The 41-day delay of the respondent State Farm Insurance (hereinafter State Farm) in disclaiming coverage for the vehicle of its insured, Chin Hasing L. Ng, based on his failure to provide it with timely notice of an accident, was unreasonable as a matter of law ( see, Matter of Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co. v. Steiner, 199 A.D.2d 507). Its attempt to justify that delay is unpersuasive. Since insurance coverage for the Ng vehicle still exists, the petition to stay arbitration of the uninsured motorist claim of Leonid A. Pevzner should have been granted.

SANTUCCI, J.P., THOMPSON, SULLIVAN, and FRIEDMANN, JJ., concur.