PRUDENTIAL INSURANCE COMPANY OF AMERICA, APPELLANT,
v.
INSTITUTE FOR MARINE SCIENCE, INC., ET AL., APPELLEES
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Prudential Insurance challenged a trial court's award of attorney's fees under Florida Statute 627.428 to an insurance beneficiary who filed suit more than 60 days after submitting a claim. The appellate court affirmed, holding that submission of Prudential's own claim form constituted valid 'proof of claim' and that the insurer's failure to resolve the claim within 60 days triggered liability for attorney's fees.
The court held that the completed claim form submitted by the beneficiary constituted valid 'proof of the claim' within the meaning of Section 627.428(2), and that no additional documentation (such as death certificate or autopsy report) is required to satisfy that definition. Because suit was filed more than 60 days after submission of the form, the beneficiary was entitled to recover attorney's fees despite Prudential's subsequent voluntary payment.
[1] Filing a completed claim form supplied by the insurer constitutes "proof of the claim" for purposes of calculating the sixty-day waiting period before attorney's fees are…
[2] The sixty-day waiting period under Section 627.428(2), Florida Statutes, is intended to provide the insurer a reasonable opportunity to investigate a claim.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the filing by the appellee, which was the named beneficiary of a Prudential policy insuring the life of one of its employees, of a completed form entitled "Request Life Insurance Policy Benefits" which had been supplied by Prudential itself, amounted to the "proof of the claim" contemplated by this provision.”
Establishes that submission of the insurer's own claim form satisfies the statutory definition of 'proof of claim'
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceInstitute for Marine Science, Inc., as named beneficiary of a Prudential life insurance policy covering one of its employees, submitted a completed 'R…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Attorney'S Fees Under Fla. Stat. § 627.428 cases and more on FLexlaw
SCHWARTZ, Judge.
The attorney’s fees recoverable under Section 627.428, Florida Statutes (1977), from insurance companies by successful insureds and beneficiaries may not be “allowed if such suit was commenced prior to expiration of sixty days after proof of the claim was duly filed with the insurer.” Section 627.428(2).
We agree with the trial judge that the filing by the appellee, which was the named beneficiary of a Prudential policy insuring the life of one of its employees, of a completed form entitled “Request Life Insurance Policy Benefits” which had been supplied by Prudential itself, amounted to the “proof of the claim” contemplated by this provision. Because the action below was filed more than sixty days after the “request,” we therefore affirm the partial summary judgment under review which held that the appellee was entitled to fees under the statute, even though Prudential voluntarily paid the face amount of the policy after the suit was filed.
There is nothing in the statutory definition of “proof of the claim” which requires, as Prudential contends, that the beneficiary also submit a death certificate, an autopsy report, or any details of the insured’s death beyond the information called for in the form. See DaRin v. Casualty Co. of America, 41 Mont. 175, 108 P. 649 (1910); cf. 18 Fla.Jur., Insurance, Sections 793-794 (1971), and cases cited. While the insurer is of course entitled to make a reasonable investigation of the claim prior to payment, the very purpose of the sixty day period under Section 627.428(2) is to provide that opportunity. See Shuster v. New York Life Ins. Co., 351 So. 2d 62, 65 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977).
When, as here, the investigation, however “reasonable,” goes beyond the statutory sixty-day period before suit is filed, the insurance company becomes liable for the payment of fees.
Affirmed.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Gov't Emps. Ins. Co. v. Lazara E. Gonzalez, 512 So. 2d 269 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987)…1124 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). Instead, the appellant waited over two months to do so. On either or both of these bases, GEICO was liable for attorney’s fees. Ray, 477 So. 2d at 634; Prudential Ins. Co. of America v. Institute for Marine Science, Inc., 371 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979), cert. denied, 381 So. 2d 769 (Fla.1980); Employers’ Liab. Assurance Corp. v. Royals Farm Supply, Inc., 186 So. 2d 317 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966); Kurz v. New York Life Ins. Co., 168 So. 2d 564 (Fla. 1st DCA 1964). Particularly — but not…
-
Fla. Life Ins. Co. v. Fickes, 613 So. 2d 501 (Fla. 5th DCA 1993)…ective policies. In our view, it would require too great a leap of statutory construction to say that payment prior to litigation is in effect a “confession of judgment.” See also Prudential Ins. Co. of America v. Institute for Marine Science, Inc., 371 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Insurance Co. of North America v. Acousti, supra. In Waters v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 393 So. 2d 1203 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981), quashed on other grounds, 408 So. 2d 1044 (Fla.1982), the court held that no attorney’s fees coul…
-
Republic Nat'l Life Ins. Co. v. Cunningham, 373 So. 2d 71 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Prudential Insurance Company of America v. Institute for Marine Science, 371 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).…
Authorities Cited
- Shuster v. NEW York Life Ins. Co. & Shirley Shuster Grossman, 351 So. 2d 62 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977)