UNITED STATES FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY, and Hartford Insurance Company of the Southeast, Appellants,
v.
SOUTHERN SECURITY LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, et al., Appellees.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
Robert E. Bonner of Meier, Lengauer, Bonner, Muszynski & Doyle, Orlando, for Aрpellant United States Fire Insurance Company.
*131 Randall M. Bolinger and Robert J. Egan of Rissman, Weisberg, Barrett, Hurt, Donahue & McLain, P.A., Orlando, for Appellant Hartford Insurance Company of the Southeast.
Don B. Long, Jr., of Johnston, Barton, Proctor & Powell, LLP, Birmingham, AL, and W. Scott Gabrielson of Mateer & Harbert, P.A., Orlando, for Appellees.
GOSHORN, Judge.
This consolidated appeal requires the interpretation of the terms of several liability insurance contracts and presents three issues for our review. We find that only one issue merits discussion and аffirm the summary judgments entered against Hartford Insurance Company of the Southeast and United States Fire Insurance Cоmpany in favor of their insured, Southern Security Life Insurance Company.
Hartford was the primary liability insurer for Southern from August 1, 1982 until August 1, 1991. The policies issued from August 1, 1982 to August 1, 1987 provided personal injury liability coverage to Southern. However, the 1987 and lаter policies excluded personal injury coverage by means of an endorsement to the policy.
Southern was sued by a former employee for libel and slander for statements made by Southern in 1990 and 1991. It is not disputed thаt libel and slander are classified as personal injury under the subject policies. Southern sought defense of thе claims from Hartford, and Hartford declined to defend based on the 1987 policy change which removed pеrsonal injury coverage from the policy. After settling with its employee, Southern filed suit against Hartford to recоup its defense costs, alleging that the Hartford policy covered personal injury in 1990 and 1991 because Hartfоrd had not notified Southern of the 1987 coverage exclusion as required by subsection 627.4133(1), Florida Statutes (1997), which provides in part:
(a) An insurer issuing a policy providing coverage for workers' compensation and employer's liаbility insurance, property, casualty, except mortgage guaranty, surety, or marine insurance ... shall give the nаmed insured at least 45 days' advance written notice of nonrenewal or of the renewal premium. If the pоlicy is not to be renewed, the written notice shall state the reason or reasons as to why the policy is not to be renewed....
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(b) An insurer issuing a policy providing coverage for property, casualty, except mortgage guaranty, surety, or marine insurance... shall give the named insured written notice of cancellation or termination other than nonrenewal at least 45 days prior to the effective date of the cancellаtion or termination, including in the written notice the reason or reasons for the cancellation or terminаtion....
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(c) If an insurer fails to provide the 45-day... written notice required under this section, the coverage provided to the named insured shall remain in effect until 45 days after the notice is given or until the effective date of reрlacement coverage obtained by the named insured, whichever occurs first.
Hartford contends that seсtion 627.4133 only requires notice to the insured when an entire policy is not renewed and not where, as here, only a portion of numerous coverages is deleted. The lower court rejected this argument and concluded that because Hartford did not notify Southern of the 1987 deletion of personal injury coverage, the coverage under Hartford's pre-1987 form policy continued until August 1, 1991, when Southern procured primary liability insurance from a diffеrent carrier. Accordingly, the lower court entered summary judgment against Hartford on the issue of its duty to defend, noting:
The purpose of the statute's notice requirement is to enable an insured to obtain coverage elsewhere before the insured is subjected to risk without protection. The 1987 Hartford policy, which deleted this covеrage, was a non-renewal of the 1986 Hartford policy within the meaning of § 627.4133. Thus Hartford was required to *132 give Southern Security written notice of non-renewal by the statute.
In the Court's opinion, notice is required when, as here, coverage such as the libel and slander coverage provided by the 1986 Hartford Policy is eliminated by the insurer in the reissued рolicy.
We agree with the trial court that the 1987 policy was a "nonrenewal" of the 1986 policy which triggered the notice requirement of section 627.4133. A "nonrenewal" is a policy with material changes in terms and conditions frоm the prior policy. See Hartford Accident & Indem. Co. v. Sheffield,
AFFIRMED.
PETERSON and THOMPSON, JJ., concur.