INDUSTRIAL FIRE AND CASUALTY INSURANCE COMPANY, APPELLANT,
v.
CALVIN JONES, APPELLEE
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed a summary judgment for an insured, holding that an insurance policy exclusion for relatives occupying a non-insured vehicle owned by the named insured was valid and did not violate statutory definitions of "named insured."
Yes, the exclusion is valid as it is specifically authorized by Florida Statute Section 627.736(2)(a). No, the policy's definition of "named insured" to include "or spouse" does not violate statutory definitions, as a spouse can be included as a named insured without their specific name being listed.
[1] An insurance policy exclusion for injury sustained by the named insured or relatives residing in the same household while occupying a motor vehicle owned by the named ins…
[2] A spouse may be properly included as a named insured in an insurance policy even if their given name and surname are not explicitly stated.
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“We reverse upon a holding that the trial court incorrectly determined the applicable law and that defendant Industrial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, as a matter of law, is entitled to a summary judgment in its favor.”
Establishes the appellate court's decision to overturn the lower court's ruling.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceCalvin Jones, living with his stepfather and mother, was injured while driving his mother's uninsured car. His stepfather's car was insured by Industr…
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PEARSON, Judge.
Industrial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company was defendant in the trial court where it suffered a summary final judgment in favor of the appellee, Calvin Jones. The judgment held as a matter of law under undisputed facts that Calvin Jones was entitled to personal injury protection benefits under a policy which had been issued to Jones’ stepfather. We reverse upon a holding that the trial court incorrectly determined the applicable law and that defendant Industrial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company, as a matter of law, is entitled to a summary judgment in its favor. The plaintiff, Calvin Jones, lived with his mother and his stepfather. Industrial insured a car owned by the stepfather, but a car owned by plaintiff’s mother was not insured under the Industrial policy. The plaintiff was injured in an automobile accident while driving his mother’s car. He claimed PIP benefits from Industrial, but Industrial denied the claim on the ground that the claim was barred by a specific exclusion in the policy.
All of the above facts were admitted. The trial court could have entered summary judgment for the plaintiff only upon a holding that the exclusion in Industrial’s policy which, on its face, would exclude recovery was an illegal exclusion. The exclusion was as follows:
“(g) under coverage C [Personal Injury Protection] to the named insured or any relative while occupying a motor vehicle of which the named insured is the owner and which is not an insured motor vehicle under this insurance.”
The insurance company claims that this policy exclusion was specifically authorized by Section 627.736, Florida Statutes (1977), which provides:
“(2) AUTHORIZED EXCLUSIONS.— Any insurer may exclude benefits:
(a) For injury sustained by the named insured and relatives residing in the same household while occupying another motor vehicle owned by the named insured and not insured under the policy . . . ”
We have previously held a similar exclusion valid in Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York v. Fonseca, 358 So. 2d 569 (Fla.3d DCA 1978). We need not repeat the reasoning of that opinion here but would simply point out that the same reasoning is applicable to the question of the validity of the exclusion that the trial judge held to be invalid in the present case.
The plaintiff recognizes the authority of the above case but urges that the decision overlooks a provision of the Florida Statutes which makes the exclusion in the present case invalid. Accordingly, the plaintiff urges that Industrial’s policy does not conform to statutory requirements because the definition given in the policy for “named insured” varies from the definition provided by the Florida Automobile Reparation Reform Act, Section 627.730, et seq., Florida Statutes (1977), where Section 627.-732, Florida Statutes (1977), defines “named insured” as follows:
“As used in ss. 627.730—627.741:
* * * * * *
(3) ‘Named insured’ means a person, usually the owner of a vehicle, identified in a policy by name as the insured under the policy.”
It is suggested that because the wording of Industrial’s policy includes the policyholder “or spouse” as the named insured and because the spouse’s actual name is not given, such a definition of named insured violates and broadens the last quoted section of the above statute.
We hold that such an interpretation of the statute is improper and that a person described as a spouse of a policyholder may properly be included as a named insured even though the given name and surname of such spouse are not stated in the policy.1 We think this interpretation is necessary to preserve the intentions of the act and that any other interpretation would bring about the ridiculous result of allowing the insurance of one automobile and the coverage on several unnamed automobiles. See Fidelity & Casualty Company of New York v. Fonseca, 358 So. 2d 569 (Fla.3d DCA 1978).
Accordingly, the summary final judgment appealed is reversed and this cause is remanded with directions to enter a judgment for defendant Industrial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company.
Reversed and remanded.
. We believe it worth noting that as a practical matter an insurance company may include as a named insured a policyholder’s “spouse” (as a category) instead of an actual spouse’s name (that is, a particular person within the “spouse” category) for the simple reason that a policyholder (especially in this day and age) is not apt to have the same spouse at any given point in time. As a result, the actual name of the policyholder’s spouse is not a necessary prerequisite under the statutory requirement.
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United States Fid. & Guar. Co. v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 369 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979)…ility or indemnity policy such as the one involved here. Since we hold that Mrs. Arevalo is the “contracting insured,” we need not decide whether she is also a “specifically named policy beneficiary.” But see Industrial Fire & Casualty Co. v. Jones, 363 So. 2d 1168, 1170 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) (resident spouse a “named insured” though not designated by first and last names in policy). . As applied to a situation such as this, it is apparent that the language in Roberts upon which the carrier relies is dictum. The…
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Sturgis v. Fortune Ins. Co., 475 So. 2d 1272 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985)…surance coverage. Additionally, a person described as a spouse of a policyholder may properly be included as a named insured even though the given name and surname of the spouse are not stated in the policy. Indus. Fire & Casualty Ins. Co. v. Jones, 363 So. 2d 1168 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978). An insurance company may include a policyholder’s “spouse” categorically instead of setting forth the actual spouse’s name for the simple reason that a policyholder is not apt to have the same spouse at any given point in time. C…
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Lopez v. Fid. & Cas. Co. of N.Y., 384 So. 2d 680 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)…insured under the policy or for injury sustained by any person operating the insured motor vehicle without the express or implied consent of the insured. While we held this exclusion valid in Industrial Fire and Casualty Insurance Company v. Jones, 363 So. 2d 1168 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), it is not applicable in the present case because Rodriguez did not own the vehicle occupied by Lopez. Lopez also appeals from the denial of his motion for partial summary judgment in which he sought to have it determined that he…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Fid. & Cas. Co. OF NEW York v. Fonseca, 358 So. 2d 569 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978)