New York State enacted the Adult Survivors Act to revive claims for sexual assault where the victim was over the age of 18 years old at the time of the assault. On November 24, 2022, a one-year look-back window will open to permit survivors of adult sexual assault to pursue their claims in court no matter how long ago the abuse occurred.
Mariann Wang participated in a Q+A session with Safe Horizon about the Adult Survivors Act and what it means for survivors seeking justice.
In doing some research, there was an aspect that to this issue that should be included, from an article entitled Recently Enacted New York Adult Survivors Act Presents Costly Perils for Policyholders and Their Insurers
Recognizing that historical sexual abuse claims often raise missing policy issues, in response to the CVA, the New York Department of Financial Services called for insurers to “take the initiative to be cooperative so that victims may be compensated.[Insurance Circular Letter No. 11 (2019), Department of Financial Services, New York State.]
Insurance Circular No. 11 also “encourages Insurers to do more than the minimum required” and “to act in utmost good faith to preserve and provide any relevant records to policyholders and other entitled persons, whether in connection with any lawful discovery process or otherwise.” We do not know yet whether the Department of Financial Services will issue a similar directive for the adult survivors act (ASA), but policyholders who are concerned about locating historical policies should be on the lookout for such a directive.