Friedman v. Connecticut General Life Insurance

OPINION OF THE COURT

Read, J.

We are called upon to decide whether the placement of a “Relation of Earnings to Insurance” (REI) clause within the “General Provisions” of a disability insurance policy complies with Insurance Law § 3216. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that it does.

I

Defendant Connecticut General Life Insurance Company issued a 10-page form disability income insurance policy to plaintiff Bruce Friedman, a citizen and resident of New York, on July 19, 1983. The first section of the policy, entitled “Policy Specifications,” sets forth a “Monthly Indemnity for Total Dis…