Civil Litigation
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Infinity Insurance Company v. Berges
26 Fla. L. Weekly D2174 (Fla. 2d DCA Sept. 7, 2001)
An offer to settle that does not protect the insured or only partially settles a claim against the insured cannot be said to provide the insurer with a reasonable opportunity to settle the claim. Consequently, it cannot subject the insurer to a bad faith claim for failure to settle. Because the offer presented would not protect the insured, the insurer did not act in bad faith by failing to settle. Additionally, if there is no valid opportunity to settle, the insurer could not have acted in bad faith by failing to notify the insured of the offer. Since the "offer" contemplated settling within policy limits, there was no duty to involve the insured in the negotiations. Because there was no bad faith, there was no basis upon which to award attorney
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