The Archdiocese of New York claims Chubb Insurance secretly posed as a victims’ group to influence an abuse lawsuit.
Newsroom (05/02/2026 Gaudium Press ) The Archdiocese of New York has accused its longtime insurer, Chubb Insurance, of secretly orchestrating what it calls a “shadow campaign” to discredit the Church and influence ongoing litigation over decades-old sexual abuse claims. In a court filing dated January 31 and obtained by EWTN News, the archdiocese alleged that Chubb, rather than acting in good faith, has been covertly operating a website under the guise of a victims’ advocacy organization meant to undermine the archdiocese’s legal case.
The complaint, filed at the New York State Supreme Court, contends that the insurer, which is currently being sued by the archdiocese for failure to pay out financial claims to sexual abuse victims, created and managed a site known as the “Church Accountability Project.” According to the filing, Chubb used the project to encourage victims to “pursue claims against the archdiocese,” thereby seeking to “elevate Chubb’s own financial interests” and strengthen its negotiating position in the lawsuit.
As of February 4, the Church Accountability Project website clearly displays the Chubb logo at the top of its homepage. However, archived versions of the site from roughly a year earlier show no mention of any connection to the insurer. Those earlier pages described the Archdiocese of New York as having “tolerated and covered up horrific sexual abuse against children for decades” and declared the project’s mission as “holding the Archdiocese of New York accountable.” The current iteration of the site retains much of the same language while now acknowledging Chubb’s association.
A spokesperson for Chubb responded sharply to the filing, calling it “the latest desperate tactic to delay justice and distract from the decades of horrific child sexual abuse the Archdiocese of New York enabled and concealed.” The statement continued: “It’s quite telling that the archdiocese is more outraged about the facts coming to light on a platform we created than they are about the abuses they condoned, concealed, and covered up.” Chubb also accused the archdiocese of withholding information and stalling payments that should go to survivors.
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, in 2024 remarks addressing the prior lawsuit filed by the archdiocese against Chubb, asserted that the insurer was “attempting to evade their legal and moral contractual obligation to settle covered claims which would bring peace and healing to victim-survivors.” The insurer, for its part, has maintained that the archdiocese bears full moral and financial responsibility for the long history of abuse, asserting that it “tolerated, concealed, and covered up rampant child sexual abuse for decades,” and despite “substantial financial resources,” continues to “refuse to compensate their victims.”
In its latest filing, the archdiocese asked the court for punitive damages and characterized Chubb’s alleged secret campaign as “wanton sabotage,” describing the insurer’s conduct as “just the latest example of the depths to which Chubb is willing to stoop.” The filing argues that Chubb’s actions go far beyond normal legal strategy, amounting to a deliberate attempt to damage the archdiocese’s credibility in public and in court.
The newly branded Church Accountability Project continues to claim that the archdiocese “repeatedly refused to share crucial details regarding what they knew and when” about clergy sexual abuse. The site also asserts that the archdiocese’s insurance policies “are designed to cover accidents, not to compensate for deliberately concealing a pattern of abuse.”
As the legal fight continues, the case has once again placed the Catholic Church’s handling of abuse cases under a harsh spotlight—this time with its insurer standing at the center of an extraordinary public feud.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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