VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Civ. No. 47.200
Notice to Insurer: Reasonable Time
The requirement in the policy that notice of the [accident; injury; loss] be given [immediately; at
once; forthwith; as soon as practicable; as soon as possible] means that notice must be given within a
reasonable time from the date of the [accident; injury; loss] under all of the circumstances of the
case. It does not mean that notice must be given immediately or instantaneously. If there is a
reasonable explanation for the insured’s delay in notifying the insurance company, the insured is
not barred from a recovery because of the delay.
The insurance company has the burden of proving by the greater weight of the evidence that
notice of the [accident; injury; loss] was not given within a reasonable time under all of the
circumstances.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Civil, Release 26, April 2026. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- civ-2026-04-01
- Content hash
3b76b359de3a67345b72162af3a79e5b0dc5afe168b0428985955adf68f87a75
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