/rueziffra.com/Allan Ziffra auto accident attorney/ 08/18/2009
As an experienced and tenured personal injury law firm that has successfully represented thousands of automobile and motorcycle accident victims, the lawyers at Rue & Ziffra have seen many clients seek their assistance subsequent to the client’s insurance company having claimed that there had been a prior cancellation of coverage which precludes any and all disbursement of benefits. However, in a surprising number of such incidents, the insurance company unjustifiably denies the insured party coverage. How does this happen? Well, it is not at all an infrequent occurrence that there was an ineffective cancellation of the insurance policy in question that prohibits the insurance carrier from denying the insured benefits under the terms of the applicable policy.
Florida laws are quite specific in the context of canceling an automobile insurance policy. Specifically, no notice of cancellation of a policy shall be effective unless it is based on one or more of the following grounds: 1) nonpayment of premium, 2) material misrepresentation or fraud, and/or 3) the driver’s license or motor vehicle registration of the named insured or of any other operator who either resides in the same household or customarily operates an automobile insured under the policy has been under suspension or revocation during the policy period or the 180 days immediately preceding its effective date. Furthermore, no notice of cancellation of a policy shall be effective unless mailed or delivered by the insurer to the named insured and to the named insured’s insurance agent at least 45 days prior to the effective date of cancellation. However, when the cancellation is attributable to the nonpayment of premium, at least 10 days’ notice of cancellation is all that is required. Also, no notice of cancellation of a policy shall be effective unless the reason(s) for cancellation accompany the cancellation notice.
Regarding the nonrenewal of an automobile liability insurance policy, unless a written explanation for refusal to renew accompanies the carrier’s notice of intention not to renew, the policy shall remain in full force and effect. Moreover, no insurer shall fail to renew a policy unless it mails or delivers to the named insured and to the named insured’s insurance agent its notice of intention not to renew with at least 45 days notice, accompanied by the reasons for refusal to renew. However, this does not apply in the case of nonpayment of premium.
It is all too common an occurrence for insurance companies to deny coverage due to alleged policy cancellation when in fact the insured’s policy was never sufficiently extinguished. It is critical for you to seek experienced and knowledgeable legal counsel in the event you sustain injuries of any kind in an automobile accident. The attorneys at Rue & Ziffra routinely deal with complex issues of insurance coverage and are oftentimes successful in establishing coverage in cases where our clients either did not know or were unsure whether such coverage was available. To speak to one of our attorneys about your prospective injury case, call our law offices at 1-800-526-4711 or visit our website at www.RueZiffra.com.
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