In State Farm Florida Insurance Company v. Meir Aloni, the Florida Fourth District Court of Appeal held that discovery of the insurance company’s claim file including its activity log, emails, notes and photographs was improper when coverage was in dispute.
Insurance Company Claim File
This case involved a claim for roof damage relating to Hurricane Wilma. The homeowner reported the claim four and half years after the storm and the insurance company was defending the claim on the basis of untimely and late notice. The homeowner sought documents from the insurance company’s claim file claiming those documents would prove whether the insurance company was prejudiced by any late reporting and that the documents themselves were not privileged or prepared in anticipation of coverage. The trial court ordered the insurance company to produce certain documents from the claims file and this appeal was taken.
Claims File Work Product Privilege and Exceptions
The Fourth District Court of Appeal found that an insurance company’s claim file is generally work product and is protected from discovery prior to the determination of coverage. The appellate court noted that there are two exceptions to the work product privilege for the claims file. First, a party may request the trial court to conduct an in camera inspection of the materials to make sure they meet the specific criteria for privilege. Secondly, a party may obtain the materials if it shows that they are in need of the materials in preparation of the case and is unable without undue hardship to obtain the equivalent materials by other means. Since the homeowner did not prove need or inability to obtain similar materials without undue hardship, it would cause irreparable harm to the insurer to produce those materials now.
Related Topics: Florida Insurance Law, Florida Homeowner’s Insurance Claim, Insurance Claims File
