Court Grants Summary Judgment to Insurer, Finding No Breach Where Plaintiffs Failed to Submit Competing Actual Cash Value Estimate or Make Repairs

The court ruled that an insurance carrier did not breach its policy by paying actual cash value damages alone because the plaintiffs neither submitted a competing actual cash value estimate nor made repairs required to trigger replacement cost value coverage.

American Integrity Insurance Company of Florida covered a claim filed by the plaintiffs and paid the actual cash value damages it estimated. In response, the plaintiffs submitted an estimate for damages they claimed to have incurred for replacement cost value damages. The estimate did not contain any amount for actual cash value damages. The plaintiffs sued American Integrity Carrier for breach of contract for failing to pay the full amount of damages they claim resulted from the loss. 

The defendant filed a motion for summary judgment, claiming it issued payment for the actual cash value of the damages it calculated and was entitled to judgement as a matter of law because the plaintiffs did not submit a “competing” estimate for actual cash value damages prior to filing suit. Instead, the plaintiffs submitted an estimate that calculated damages at a replacement cost value. 

The court found the policy issued by the defendant provided that it was liable for actual cash value damages initially and that the defendant is only liable to pay replacement cost value damages upon the plaintiffs’ incurring the costs to repair the damaged property. The court found the defendant was entitled to summary judgment because the plaintiffs did not present a competing actual cash value estimate in this breach of contract action. 

According to the court, when a policy provides for actual cash value damages until repairs are actually made, a carrier cannot have breached the policy by paying actual cash value damages when no repairs are made or a competing actual cash value estimate submitted prior to the filing of a lawsuit. Because the plaintiffs failed to provide a competing actual cash value estimate or make repairs prior to filing suit in this case, summary judgment was issued in favor of the defendant.  

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