Daily Archive for June 5th, 2017
In this case, the court determined on the facts that the insured’s life insurance policy had lapsed for non-payment. It rejected the estate’s efforts at construing relevant insurance statutes, concerning payment timing, against the carrier’s coverage position.
Addressing bad faith, the court found that the insurer’s “actions did not constitute bad faith because [it] had a reasonable basis for denying benefits.” The insured “knew of his ‘impending policy lapse’ but ‘made no premium payments to prevent this lapse, [so] [the insurer] appropriately and timely declined to pay the death benefits.’”
Date of Decision: May 18, 2017
Moll v. Pruco Life Insurance Co., 2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 8698 (3d Cir. May 18, 2017) (Greenaway, Jordan, Rendell, JJ.)
