A recent case came out in favor of an insured and against a first-party property insurer in the triggering of a statutory bad faith action. Florida’s Fifth District Court of Appeal in Demase v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company, 43 Fla. L. Weekly D679a (Fla. 5th DCA 2018) held that if an insurer pays a claim after the 60-day notice to cure period provided by Florida Statute s. 624.155(3), this “constitutes a determination of an insurer’s liability for coverage and extent of damages under section 624.155(1)(b) even when there is no underlying action.”
Before a statutory bad faith claim is brought, an insured must file a Civil Remedy Notice giving the insurer written notice of the violation and 60 days to cure the claimed violation.
There are three requirements to sue for a statutory bad faith claim: “1) a determination of the insurer’s liability for coverage; (2) a determination of the extent of the insured’s damages; and (3) the required notice is filed pursuant to section 624.155(3).” The third requirement is the filing of the Civil Remedy Notice pursuant to s. 624.155 giving the insurer a safe harbor to cure the claimed violation.
The first and second requirement are oftentimes determined in litigation, arbitration, or settlement in a coverage lawsuit against an insurer. However, as this court demonstrates, that does not always have to be the case. If the insurer pays a claim outside of the 60-day cure period, this establishes (1) a determination of the insurer’s liability for coverage and (2) a determination of the extent of the insured’s damages. In other words, if an insurer is going to pay a claim, they really need to think carefully about doing so within the 60-day statutory bad faith cure period. Paying afterwards supports the first two requirements of a statutory bad faith claim.
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