MAURILIA ALVAREZ, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHN HANCOCK MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLEE
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An insured employee under a group insurance policy challenged the amendment of the policy to decrease benefits without notification to employees. The court held that absent fraud or misrepresentation, a group insurance policy may be amended through negotiations between the insurer and employer without notifying employees, following established Florida precedent.
In the absence of fraud or misrepresentation, a group insurance policy may be altered by negotiations between the insurance company and the employer without requiring notification to insured employees. The court specifically declined to address whether the employer has a duty to notify employees of such changes.
[1] A group insurance policy contract between an insurer and an employer for the benefit of employees may be altered by negotiations between the insurer and the employer.
[2] In the absence of fraud or misrepresentation, an insurer is not required to notify insured employees of alterations to a group insurance policy made between the insurer a…
Previewing 2 of 3 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“in the absence of an allegation of fraud or misrepresentation, the contract between the insurance company and the employer for the benefit of the employees may be altered by negotiations between the insurance company and the employer”
Establishes the core holding that group policies may be modified without employee notification unless fraud is involved
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMaurilia Alvarez was an insured employee under a group insurance policy issued by John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company to her employer. The insu…
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PER CURIAM.
The single arguable issue presented on this appeal from a summary final judgment for the John Hancock Mutual Life Insurance Company is the argument of the appellant (an insured employee under a group insurance policy between the employer and the insurer, John Hancock) that a group insurance policy may not be amended to decrease benefits without notification to insured employees. We think this position is not well taken in view of the reasoning of the Supreme Court of Florida in Kimbal v. Travelers Insurance Company, 151 Fla. 786, 10 So. 2d 728 (1942). We hold that in the absence of an allegation of fraud or misrepresentation, the contract between the insurance company and the employer for the benefit of the employees may be altered by negotiations between the insurance company and the employer. Under such circumstances, the law does not require a notification by the insurance company to the employees. See 68 A.L.R.2d 249 at 266 (1959),1 citing cases from several jurisdictions, including Kimbal v. Travelers Insurance Company, supra. We make no holding with regard to the duty of the employer to notify the employee of a change in the policy, as that issue is not involved in this case.
Affirmed.
. “ . . . the question [arises concerning] whether the employer may cancel or modify the master group policy without knowledge of or notice to the insured employee or his beneficiary.
“In a number of cases the view has been expressed, mostly in the form of dicta, that an employer may, before liability has attached as to an insured employee, validly cancel or modify a master group policy without notice to such employee unless the policy or an applicable statute provides otherwise.”
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Luisa Rodriguez v. Conn. Gen. Life Ins. Co., 368 So. 2d 93 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. Alvarez v. John Hancock Mutual Life Ins. Co., 362 So. 2d 360 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978); Brown v. Gulf Life Ins. Co., 343 So. 2d 91 (Fla. 3d DCA 1977); Moylan v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Ins. Co., 343 So. 2d 56 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); Reliance Mutual Life Ins. Co. of Illinois v. Booher, 166 So. 2d 222 (Fla. 2d DCA 1…
Authorities Cited
- Kimbal v. THE Travelers Ins. Co., 151 Fla. 786 (Fla. 1942)