North Pointe Casualty Insurance Co. v. Arden Insurance Associates, Inc.
Docket: No. 4D10-4466
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; November 29, 2011; Florida; State Appellate Court
The insurer's appeal against the circuit court's final judgment favoring Arden Insurance Associates, Inc. and Kenneth A. Norberg was affirmed. The court granted the agents' motion for summary judgment, determining that the insurer did not provide the required written notice of nonrenewal for the 2004-05 policy to the named insured, P.F. Construction, Inc. Under Florida Statute § 627.4133(1)(a), an insurer must give at least 45 days' written notice of nonrenewal. A nonrenewal implies material changes to the policy terms. As the insurer failed to provide this notice and the subcontractor did not secure replacement coverage before the underlying incident, the terms of the 2004-05 policy remained active. The statute stipulates that coverage continues until 45 days post-notice or until replacement coverage is effective. Consequently, the contractor, Double A Industries, Inc., remained covered under the 2004-05 policy during the incident. The insurer contended it had notified the subcontractor of deleted coverage for the contractor in the renewal to the 2005-06 policy. However, the court found that the document did not indicate such a deletion; instead, it proposed additional coverages without suggesting that existing coverages for additional insureds would be eliminated. The judgment was affirmed without addressing additional arguments raised by the parties, as the analysis provided was sufficient. Judges Taylor and Levine concurred with the decision.