11 NYCRR 65-3.10: Attorneys

(a) An applicant or an assignee shall be entitled to recover their attorney’s fees, for services necessarily performed in connection with securing payment, if a valid claim or portion thereof was denied or overdue. If such a claim was initially denied and subsequently paid by the insurer, the attorney’s fee shall be $80. If such a claim was overdue but not denied, the attorney’s fee shall be equal to 20 percent of the amount of the first-party benefits and any additional first-party benefits plus interest payable pursuant to section 65-3.9 of this Subpart, subject to a maximum fee of $60.

(b) If a dispute is resolved in accordance with any of the optional arbitration procedures contained in this Part, either during the initial review by the Department of Financial Services or by an arbitration award, and if payment is not made by the insurer in accordance with the terms specified in the conciliation letter or arbitration award within 45 days following such resolution, an additional attorney’s fee shall be paid by the insurer when the attorney writes to the insurer in order to receive such overdue payment. The additional attorney’s fee shall be $60 and shall become payable only after written request from the attorney to the insurer, received by the insurer more than 45 days after mailing of the conciliation letter or arbitration award. Such fee shall not be payable if payment was made by the insurer prior to the attorney’s request for such payment or if an arbitration award is appealed in accordance with the provisions of this Part.

(c) The insurer shall segregate any attorney’s fee on an overdue claim from the loss and interest payments, either through issuance of separate drafts or through an accompanying statement which clearly and separately identifies the components of the draft.

(d) No attorney’s fee payable by an insurer on account of an overdue claim may be included by the insurer in any rate making calculations.