Cases
Recently, a federal district court in Connecticut granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of an insurance carrier where the Plaintiff, insured, sought specific performance of the appraisal provision in her insurance contract. Plaintiff filed suit against her insurer in January 2017 regarding an alleged loss she sustained in February 2015. In moving for summary judgment, the Defendant, insurer, argued that Plaintiff’s suit is barred because of its violation of the suit limitations provision and a lack of “prompt notice” to the insurer.
Ultimately, the Court granted the Defendant’s motion for summary judgment, finding that the suit was “commenced well beyond the contractual limitations period” and noting that providing notice of the claim to the insurer 14 months after the initial loss was not “prompt,” as required by the policy.
This ruling’s effect extends beyond the application of the statute of limitations to the appraisal provision in an insurance policy, but extends Connecticut Court’s analysis that insurance appraisals are equivalent to arbitration. Thus, this decision further supports the position that insurance appraisals are subject to Connecticut’s arbitration statutes.