Interpreting Florida Insurance Contracts
Federal laws do not regulate insurance companies, nor are there any national standards to which the insurance companies must adhere. The result is that it is up to each state to formulate its own statutes and create its own body of case law to govern insurance contracts and to protect the consumers who purchase them. The laws themselves can sometimes be unclear or ambiguous, or it can be uncertain how they are to be applied when interpreting actual insurance contracts. When an insurance company and its insured or a third party claimant disagree and end up in court, the judge must then determine how any unclear terms should be understood or how statutes should be applied. The ruling will then provide a guideline that can be followed in similar instances. In Florida, insurance law routinely provides that should there be any uncertainty in a policy, such as an unclear choice of wording, or an ambiguity in meaning, it is to be resolved by using the meaning that is most favorable to the policyholder. In the absence of a misrepresentation regarding coverage or exclusions, if the language of the policy is clear and explicit, the clear meaning will be enforced.
Courts interpret insurance contracts in such a way as to give their terms the same meaning as would be given by an objectively reasonable person. Any personal or subjective expectations of a policyholder, which cannot be reasonably supported by the language of the contract, will not be enforceable. Subjective meaning, or what the policyholder may believe in his or her own mind will not be considered. While ambiguous or unclear terms will be construed to have the meaning that favors the insured over the insurance company, any time that the language has a plain and simple meaning, that is the meaning that the courts will use. A plain and simple meaning is one that an ordinary and reasonably prudent person would attach to the wording in question, and not the meaning that might be plain and simple to attorneys or insurance company executives. This may not apply if your insurance company has misrepresented the coverage or exclusions in your policy. It is important to distinguish between belief that your insurance company intentionally misled you or misrepresented material facts concerning your policy and a difference of opinion in interpreting what the wording means.
Exclusions and limitations in an insurance policy are defined more narrowly than other terms because they most often result in denial of coverage. It is required of insurance companies that they write both exclusions and limits on a policy in such a way as to make them unmistakable and easily understood. They must be placed within your contract in such a way as to be very visible to the policyholder. For this reason, if more than one meaning could reasonably be given to an exclusion or limitation, the courts will adopt the narrowest interpretation. Any time there is an exclusionary clause that is not clear and conspicuous, it will be interpreted in favor of the insured.
The Bad Faith Insurance information offered by the greater Tampa Bay area Bad Faith Insurance Lawyers and contained herein, regarding Florida Bad Faith Insurance statutes and Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough County, Florida Insurance Dispute claimants' rights, is general in scope. No denied Insurance Claim attorney / client relationship with our greater Tampa Bay area Insurance Bad Faith attorneys is hereby formed nor is the information herein intended as formal legal advice. See terms of use. Please contact the greater Tampa Bay area Insurance Dispute Lawyers toll-free at 1-800-4-INJURY regarding your specific claim if your insurance claim was denied in Dade City, City of New Port Richey, City of Port Richey, City of San Antonio, Town of St. Leo, Zephyrhills, Bayonet Point, Beacon Square, Blanton, Crystal Springs, Dade City North, Elfers, Holiday, Hudson, Jasmine Estates, Lacoochee, Land O' Lakes, New Port Richey East, Odessa, Saint Joseph, Shady Hills, Trinity, Wesley Chapel, Wesley Chapel South, Zephyrhills North, Zephyrhills South, Zephyrhills West, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore, Clearwater, Dunedin, Gulfport, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Kenneth City, Largo, Madeira Beach, North Redington Beach, Oldsmar, Pinellas Park, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Safety Harbor, Seminole, South Pasadena, Pete Beach, St. Petersburg, Tarpon Springs and Treasure Island, Florida. |
|
