Chase v. Horace Mann Ins. Co.

Horace Mann issued an insurance policy to Richard Chase. Richard signed a form in which he selected reduced uninsured motorist limits. Horace Mann later removed Richard as the sole named insurance from the policy and instead listed Allison Chase, Richard’s daughter, as the named insured on that policy. At no time did Allison reject uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage in writing or select lower limits. After a crash that injured Allison and killed Richard, Allison asserted that she, individually and as personal representative of her father’s estate, was entitled to uninsured motorist (UM) coverage in the amount equal to the policy’s bodily injury limits because she never selected lower UM coverage in writing as required by Fla. Stat. 627.727. The trial court agreed with Allison and determined that Allison and the Estate were entitled to $100,000 of insurance coverage under Allison’s policy. The district court reversed, concluding that Richard’s waiver of high UM coverage bound Allison individually and as personal representative of the Estate. The Supreme Court quashed the decision of the district court, holding that Allison was not subject to Richard’s waiver of benefits, and therefore, Horace Mann did not obtain a valid waiver of benefits from Allison as the named insured of her auto insurance policy. View "Chase v. Horace Mann Ins. Co." on Justia Law