STATE LAW – RHODE ISLAND LIBRARY – GUIDE 09
Rhode Island Pre-Suit Insurance Information, Policy Limits & Coverage Investigation
This guide addresses practical and legal methods for identifying applicable liability, umbrella, excess, commercial, UM/UIM, medical-payments, and other insurance before suit, including available disclosure procedures, policy-limit investigation, and documentation requests.
An injured claimant can request liability limits in writing
Section 27-7-5 applies to an injured party making a claim against an insured. It directs an insurance company doing business in Rhode Island to reveal the amount of liability coverage limits upon written request from the injured party or the injured party’s attorney. Identify the claimant, insured, date and location of the crash, and claim number if known so the insurer can locate the correct file.
Calendar 14 days from the insurer’s receipt
The statute requires a reply within 14 days of receiving the request. Preserve the exact request, attachments, delivery confirmation and response. A practical request is: “I am making an injury claim arising from the [date] crash involving your insured [name]. Under R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-7-5, please disclose the amount of the applicable liability coverage limits.” Verify the receiving insurer and correct address; this guide does not send a request for you.
Ask separately for policy documents and other layers
The statute specifies liability limits. Separately request the declarations, complete policy, endorsements, coverage position, and identification of any potentially applicable excess or commercial insurance. Label those broader requests clearly rather than representing that every requested document is expressly required by § 27-7-5. Ask whether the reported limits concern the applicable policy period and whether other claimants or payments may affect available proceeds.
Use the litigation discovery rule when appropriate
Rhode Island Superior Court Rule 26(b)(2) permits a party to discover the existence and contents of insurance agreements under which an insurance business may satisfy a judgment or reimburse payments toward it. Disclosure does not itself make insurance information admissible at trial, and the rule excludes an insurance application from the agreement for this purpose. Observe the governing court’s procedures, protective orders and any discovery limitations.
Respond to an incomplete answer without confusing the remedies
If no timely reply arrives, preserve proof of receipt and identify the omitted information in a follow-up. Obtain advice about enforcement in the actual claim or case. Section 27-7-5 does not state an automatic dollar-per-day penalty in the text linked here; do not import another state’s remedy. A disclosure answer also does not admit negligence, confirm coverage, waive exclusions, or establish the value of an injury claim.
Authorities and source notes
- R.I. Gen. Laws § 27-7-5 — information to injured party — Written liability-limits request; reply within 14 days after receipt.
- Rhode Island Superior Court Rule 26(b)(2) — Official February 2024 compilation, PDF page 37; check later amendments and case orders.
Sources and the cited passages checked October 21, 2026. Verify the law governing the event, policy language, later amendments and controlling decisions. General legal information; no attorney-client relationship is created.
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