Insurer Can Challenge Bulk of Superstorm Sandy Claim Despite Prior Payment for Damages, N.Y. Judge Rules

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — A New York man has failed to persuade a state court judge to prohibit his homeowners’ insurer from arguing that exclusions in his policy preclude coverage of the entirety of his Superstorm Sandy insurance claim when the insurer has already paid for a portion of the loss.

In an Oct. 30 decision, Justice Thomas F. Whelan of the Suffolk County Supreme Court held that insurer Chubb Indemnity Insurance Co.’s payment for part of the Sandy claim does not constitute an admission of coverage or a waiver of the insurer’s right to deny requests for additional coverage …