CopyCited 1 times | Published | Florida 4th District Court of Appeal | 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 3860, 2009 WL 1139247
...("Advantage"), the plaintiff below, appeals the trial court's final order dismissing with prejudice its complaint for "reinsurance" benefits against KILN, PLC, d/b/a Lloyd's Underwriters, and QBE International Insurance, Ltd., collectively d/b/a Lloyd's of London ("KILN & QBE"), pursuant to section 626.903, Florida Statutes (2007), prohibiting suits by unauthorized insurers....
...Following a plane crash, Advantage settled two wrongful death claims for Air Sunshine, and later sought to recover from KILN & QBE. When KILN & QBE refused to pay, Advantage filed the instant suit. KILN & QBE moved to dismiss for failure to state a cause of action, explaining that, pursuant to section 626.903, Advantage, an unauthorized insurer, was barred from bringing suit in Florida. The trial court granted the motion. We conclude that the trial court erred in dismissing Advantage's lawsuit. *1215 Section 626.903 provides that "[a]s to transactions not permitted under s....
...See §
626.905, Fla. Stat. (2007). If, as alleged by KILN & QBE, Advantage lacked a certificate of authorization when it sold insurance to Air Sunshine in Florida, then it could not have sought relief in Florida courts in an action against Air Sunshine. See §
626.903, Fla....
...surance" as, among other things, "solicitation or inducement," "preliminary negotiations," and "effectuation of a contract of insurance." §
624.10(1)-(3), Fla. Stat. (2007). Since Advantage filed suit as an insured, not an insurer, we conclude that section
626.903 does not bar Advantage's claim against KILN & QBE....
...Home Corp.,
750 So.2d 633, 638 (Fla.1999) ("[T]he mere fact that the dispute would not have arisen but for the existence of the contract and consequent relationship between the parties is insufficient by itself to transform a dispute into one `arising out of or relating to' the agreement."). [1] Because section
626.903 has the effect of barring access to the courts, we see no valid policy reason for engaging in a broad and expansive interpretation of its terms, especially where the statutory scheme itself does not suggest that we do so. Accordingly, we reverse the final order of dismissal and remand for further proceedings because even if Advantage was an unauthorized insurer of Air Sunshine, section
626.903 does not prohibit Advantage from suing KILN & QBE....
