Ask Tim

​We get frequent questions (that is, six or more in the last two weeks) about cancellation, non-renewal and conditional renewal letters from insurers. A lot of members refer to these as "220 letters," so called because the law that requires them for many types of commercial lines policies (Section 3426 of the New York Insurance Law) was enacted as Chapter 220 of the Laws of 1986. Here in one place are links to some of our posts and answers to member questions about what insurers are and are not required to do. This list will likely grow with time, but here is some information to help…

​The following is a rerun of a blog post that was originally posted on ​February 7, 2011.  It has been revised only to update some of the wording. Unfortunately, it is still timely.​​Question from a Big I NY ​member: Our insured has a license to carry a gun.  When being confronted by an attempted robbery, he uses the gun but the shot hits a bystander.  I do not see where an exclusion would apply in this case as it was not expected or intended.  Do you agree that his liability insurance would defend him in this situation?  Even if the shot hits the robber, I would think coverage…

​An article ​posted on PropertyCasualty360.com today features the headline Firework injuries have skyrocketed since 2012. With that report in mind, along with the annual Independence Day celebration around the corner, I thought it might be a good time to rerun a blog post I made on July 5, 2012. I hope you enjoy and celebrate the holiday safely. -- TDIt's the day after the Fourth of July, but that doesn't mean the celebrations are over. Really, having the holiday on a Wednesday just enables the party to last through the weekend. Independence Day means all the traditional American rituals -- baseball, hot dogs, apple pie ...…