Timely Notice

In a two-part series, Kevin Willging, of Travelers’ Extra-Contractual Litigation Unit, examines the Florida Supreme Court’s recent decision in Harvey v. GEICO. In part one, Kevin summarizes the key facts of the claim giving rise to the bad faith case and describes how the claimant’s attorney manufactured a bad faith setup. Kevin discusses the Florida Supreme Court’s rationale for reversing the appellate court’s favorable ruling in the subsequent bad faith action. Kevin delves into the Florida Supreme Court’s rejection of a “checklist” to avoid bad faith liability and endorsement of a standard somewhat akin to negligence. In part two, Kevin will discuss how this decision will affect Florida’s bad faith landscape in the future. He also will identify what insurers can do during the claims process to avoid or defuse similar bad faith setups.