Ray v. Associated Indemnity Corp.

365 So. 2d 5, 1978 La. App. LEXIS 2770
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 8, 1978
DocketNo. 9485
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 365 So. 2d 5 (Ray v. Associated Indemnity Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Ray v. Associated Indemnity Corp., 365 So. 2d 5, 1978 La. App. LEXIS 2770 (La. Ct. App. 1978).

Opinion

BOUTALL, Judge.

This is a case involving termination or expiration of an automobile liability insurance policy. Suit was brought in connection with an accident occurring on December 5, 1975, between Charles Ray and Rose Lacour, allegedly an insured of Associated Indemnity Corporation. A motion for summary judgment was brought and granted on the grounds that the policy of insurance in question expired on July 3,1975 and was never renewed.

That section of the policy at issue reads as follows:

“1. Policy Period, Territory. This policy applies only to accidents, occurrences and loss during the policy period while the automobile is within North America or any territory or possession of the United States of America, or is being transported between ports thereof. The policy period shall- be as shown in the declarations. Subject to the consent of the Company, the policy may be continued thereafter for successive policy periods of equal duration by payment of the required continuation premium to the Company on or before the effective date of each successive policy period. If such premium is not paid when due, the policy shall terminate as of that date and such date shall be the end of the policy period. Such premium shall be computed in accordance with the rates, premiums, rating plans and manual rules then, in use by the Company.”

The uncontested facts are these:

On January 3,1974, Associated Indemnity Corporation issued a policy of insurance to Rose Lacour which provided coverage until July 3, 1974 on the automobile in the accident referred to above. This policy was extended on two separate occasions by the payment of a continuation premium by Mrs. Lacour before the date of the expiration of the policy. On both occasions, the company mailed out continuation notices advising her that the policy would be continued only if this premium was timely paid.

No premium was paid by July 3, 1975 for the period spanning from that time until January 3, 1976. The suit brought by the appellant, Charles Ray, alleged that Mrs. Lacour was still insured by the appellee, Associated Indemnity, in December of 1975. The summary judgment in favor of defendant-appellee was granted on November 17, 1977 by the trial judge.

The one contested fact in this case deals with the mailing of a continuation notice by the appellee to Mrs. Lacour. Both sides filed affidavits: The appellee alleging that the notice had been mailed and the appellant alleging that Mrs. Lacour had received no notice. For the reasons assigned below, we find this disputed fact to be irrelevant to the determination of this case and, finding no contested issues of law or fact, affirm the granting of the motion for summary judgment.

Louisiana Revised Statute 22:636.1, in pertinent part, reads as follows:

“B. A notice of cancellation of a policy shall be effective only if it is based on one or more of the following reasons:
“(1) Nonpayment of premium; or
“(2) 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, if the policy is a renewal, during its policy period or the one hundred eighty days immediately preceding its effective date; or
“(3) Fraud or material misrepresentation in the presentation of a claim.
“This subsection shall not apply to non-renewal or to any policy or coverage which has been in effect less than sixty days at the time notice of cancellation is mailed or delivered by the insurer unless it is a renewal policy. After an insurer has paid and satisfied an insured’s third [7]*7physical damage claim the modification of such insured’s automobile physical damage coverage by the inclusion of a deductible not exceeding fifty dollars shall not be deemed a cancellation of the coverage or of the policy.”
“E. No insurer shall fail to renew a policy unless it shall mail or deliver to the named insured, at the address shown in the policy, at least twenty days advance notice of its intention not to renew. This subsection shall not apply: (1) if the insurer has manifested its willingness to renew; or (2) in case of nonpayment of premium; provided that, notwithstanding the failure of an insurer to comply with this subsection, the policy shall terminate on the effective date of any other insurance policy with respect to any automobile designated in both policies.”

Appellant argues that Section E. above provides for automatic renewal of a policy if neither of the two exceptions contained therein applies. Since neither section does apply, the argument continues, the company had to renew the policy. Therefore, appellant concludes that the failure of the company to renew, or cancel the policy under Section B., results in the continuation of the policy beyond the expiration date. We find that neither of these provisions applies in this case.

We deal here with a situation in which the policy simply expired by its terms. Further, the law does not require that notice be given by the insurer on a policy in which the period of coverage is 6 months. Section B. on cancellation does not apply since by its terms it is inapplicable in a non-renewal situation. See Section B. supra. Section E. deals only with a situation in which the insurer does not wish to renew. The insurer was willing to renew the policy, in this case, but no continuation payment was forthcoming from the insured. Section E. then has no bearing on a 6 month policy which expired by its own terms due to non-payment of the renewal premium.

Our attention has been drawn to the cases of Arceneaux v. Broussard, 319 So.2d 846 (La.App. 1st Cir. 1975) and Taylor v. MFA Mutual Insurance Company, 334 So.2d 402 (La.1976). We feel that these cases are not controlling of the issue at hand since the policies in those cases were of a duration of 3 months and our policy is for 6 months. Louisiana Revised Statute 22:636.1 A(5) makes a special exception for policies of less than 6 months, which the Supreme Court interpreted in Taylor to require a continuation notice when read in connection with Sections B. and E. above, thus overruling Arceneaux. Since our policy is for a 6 month time, Section 636.1 A(5) does not require a notice.

Section 22:636.1 A(5) reads as follows:

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Related

Parker v. State
89 So. 3d 844 (Supreme Court of Florida, 2011)
Ray v. Associated Indem. Corp.
373 So. 2d 166 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1979)
Edwards v. York
370 So. 2d 641 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1979)
Ray v. Associated Indemnity Corp.
367 So. 2d 868 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1979)

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Bluebook (online)
365 So. 2d 5, 1978 La. App. LEXIS 2770, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ray-v-associated-indemnity-corp-lactapp-1978.