WILLIAM H. SCHEMER, APPELLANT,
v.
AETNA INSURANCE COMPANY, A CORPORATION, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1971-08-03
No. N-482
SPECTOR, C. J., and JOHNSON, J., concur.
251 So. 2d 25 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1971) Positive Treatment
Cited by 3 cases

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.


Holding

The court held that the insurance agent was authorized by the insured to cancel the policy, and therefore the cancellation was effective despite not strictly following the policy's procedural requirements.


Headnotes

[1] An insurance policy cancellation is effective when the insured authorizes an agent to cancel the policy on their behalf, even if the policy's formal cancellation procedur…

[2] An insurance agent can be authorized by the insured to cancel a policy by submitting it for cancellation to the insurance company.

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

Facts & Procedural History

The appellant's insurance policy was canceled by the insurance agent based on an agreement with the insured and his business partner. The appellant la…

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.


Opinion of the Court
RAWLS, Judge.

RAWLS, Judge.

Appellant appeals an adverse final judgment finding that his insurance had been effectively canceled prior to his automobile accident on May 30, 1969. Appellant’s contention is twofold, viz.: That the insurance had not been effectively canceled because the procedure for cancellation set out in the policy had not been followed; and that he did not authorize the insurance agent to cancel the policy.

The factual situation is: In 1965 William Schemer and Murray Tandet were co-owners of two construction companies, William Murray Builders and Atlantic Construction and Mortgage Company, primarily engaged in the building of apartments. William Murray Builders purchased cars for the use of the two owners which were owned and insured by the company. The insurance policies were procured through Cambridge Insurance Agency (in which both Schemer and Tandet were stockholders) and were written by the Aetna Insurance Company of Hartford, Connecticut, covering William Mur*26ray Builders, Atlantic Construction and Mortgage Company, Schemer, Tandet and their wives. The premiums were paid by Cambridge which held the policies but Cambridge was repaid by Schemer and Tandet.

In March of 1969 Tommy Gay, president of Cambridge Insurance Agency, met with Schemer and Tandet regarding the insurance policies. He suggested that, since the two companies were no longer engaged in the apartment building business, the two men should transfer ownership of the cars to their individual names and arrange for individual insurance coverage.

Both Tommy Gay and Murray Tandet testified that all three men agreed that the company policies would be canceled effective April 1, 1969. On March 25, 1969, Tommy Gay marked the two policies “Canceled” and mailed them back to Aetna. Several days later he wrote notes to the two men reminding them of their need for individual insurance coverage. Murray Tandet did arrange for other insurance coverage on the car he was driving in April 1969 although he did not officially change the registration until several months later. Appellant did not arrange for individual coverage on his car.

Appellant Schemer contends that he never authorized the cancellation of the company policies and that at the March 1969 meeting all that the three men agreed to was he and Tandet were to look into the possibility of obtaining individual insurance coverage on the cars and advise Cambridge Insurance Agency of what they wanted to do. Appellant maintains that he never had possession of the policy and had never been notified of its cancellation.

On May 30, 1969, appellant was involved in an automobile accident. Aetna refused coverage and appellant filed suit. The trial court, after a non jury trial, entered a final order finding that “The insurance agent was authorized to and did submit the said policy to defendant for cancellation effective April 1, 1969, and that plaintiff is not entitled to coverage thereunder.” We agree.

Appellant primarily argues that under the policy provisions there are two methods of cancellation, viz.: (1) By the insured through surrender of the policy to the company, and (2) By the company through written notice to the insured. Appellant’s contention is that the note sent by the insurance agent, Gay, is not written notice of cancellation from the company to him and that, because he never had possession of the policy, he did not surrender it to the company. Appellant cites Graves v. Iowa Mutual Insurance Company, 132 So.2d 393 (Fla.1961), and Millers Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Texas v. American Fidelity Fire Insurance Company, 178 So.2d 742 (Fla.DCA 3d, 1965), to show that Florida courts have required a strict compliance with the procedure prescribed in the insurance policy before cancellation is effective.

The two cases are inapplicable. The trial court was presented with an issue of fact, viz.: Did appellant Schemer authorize Gay to act as his agent in this one instance and cancel the insurance policy by mailing it to the company? The trial court apparently determined that he did and thus the procedure prescribed in the policy for effective cancellation had been followed. It is clear that appellant and Tandet as co-owners of the companies which owned the policies could give this authorization. The trier of fact is in the best position to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses and the weight of the evidence presented. His determination of the issues of fact will not be disturbed by this court.

Affirmed.

SPECTOR, C. J., and JOHNSON, J., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • …Certiorari denied. 251 So. 2d 25. CARLTON, Acting C. J., and ADKINS, BOYD, McCAIN and DEKLE, JJ., concur.…
  • I. C. Sales, Inc. v. City OF N. Miami, 281 So. 2d 511 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973)
    …he appellant. Thereafter, on August 11, 1972 the court held a full hearing at the conclusion of which the temporary injunction was dissolved and it was decided further that on the basis of All Miami Appliances, Inc. v. City of North Miami, Fla.App., 251 So. 2d 25 (1971), that the defendant-appellee, North Miami, was not bound by the limitations of F.S. § 205.041, F.S.A., and that the license tax is not on its face confiscatory and oppressive. The judge then granted appellee’s motion to dismiss the complaint…
  • Rivera v. Am. Skyhawk Ins. Co., 645 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)
    …imed payment. The trial court was correct in finding no coverage for an accident occurring some five months after the cancellation date. See Williams v. Security Mut. Casualty Co., 377 [*541] So. 2d 733 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979); Schemer v. Aetna Ins. Co., 251 So. 2d 25 (Fla. 1st DCA 1971). Therefore, the summary judgment under review is affirmed. Affirmed. . Section 627.7282(3), Fla.Stat. (1993) reads: (3) No insurer shall unilaterally alter or modify the policy period for a private passenger automobile i…

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw