Ricker Agency, Inc. v. Hoxie

I concur in the result reached here. The third party complaint was framed in negligence, not breach of contract. It alleged a duty on the part of the agency to notify the insured of the potential expiration of the policy and of the availability of renewal coverage, and the negligent breach of that duty.

As with any other negligence action, there must be a showing of a duty and a negligent breach thereof proximately resulting in damage. In the absence of any statute or contract, there is no duty as a matter of law which requires an insurer to notify an insured of the time when a premium comes…