Court-Ordered Deadline for Filing Claims Against Insurance Policy Was Unreasonably Short

In In re Ambassador Insurance Co., Inc., 2015 VT 4 (January 23, 2015), the Vermont Supreme Court found that the trial court’s order setting a deadline for submitting final proofs of claim to an insurance company was unreasonably short.

Issue: Assignee to two claims under policies issued by insurance company in the middle of liquidation proceedings appeals order setting a deadline by which all policyholders must file final proofs of claim.

Holding: Reversed, finding that – given the “long tail” nature of the claims insured, as well as the fact that the insurance company was actually solvent, among other factors – a final deadline of one year did “not strike a reasonable balance between the expeditious completion of the liquidation and the protection of unliquidated and undetermined claims.”