In President and Fellows of Harvard College v. Zurich America Insurance Co., 77 F.4d 33 (1st Cir. 2023), the court upheld the insurance company’s forfeiture of the right to coverage based on untimely notice under the terms of a claims-made liability policy. Massachusetts law on the issue did not require insurers to demonstrate actual prejudice from the insured’s failure to give timely written notice under claims-made and reported policies. This case is a reaffirmation of Massachusetts law on the subject.
A similar finding was made by the court in Stormo v. State National Insurance Co., 2023 WL 5515823 (Dist. Mass. 8/25/23) involving a legal malpractice policy. Under Massachusetts law, notice provisions and claims-made insurance policies are strictly enforced, and the insured’s failure to comply with the notice provision of a claims-made policy entitled the insurer to deny coverage, even if the insurer had actual notice of a claim and was not prejudiced by the late notice.