Volume 13

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1205a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Sufficiency — Demand letter and attached itemized bill were sufficient to satisfy statutory requirements and place insurer on notice as to amount of bill — No violation of self-referral statutes occurred — Summary judgment regarding reasonableness of charges is granted in favor of medical provider

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 495a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Retroactive application of statute — Constitutionality — Impairment of contract — Medical provider acquired property interest in cause of action for PIP benefits when insurer declined to pay benefits — Accordingly, provider’s cause of action vested under PIP statute in effect at time insurer contracted with insured, and insurer’s non-payment of provider’s charges vested in provider a substantive right to file cause of action against insurer pursuant to section 627.736 without necessity of pre-suit demand letter — Where 2003 amendment to statute imposing demand letter requirement created retroactive application of demand letter provision by requiring that demand letter be submitted to insurer before lawsuit could be filed even after cause of action has vested, requirement constituted a legislative impairment of contract in violation of article I, section 10 of Florida Constitution

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1084a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Presuit demand letter served by insured prior to revocation of assignment given to medical provider is invalid and does not satisfy condition precedent for suit

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 349b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Letter sent to related entity mistakenly named as insurer — Where medical provider filed complaint against one of insurer’s entities; that entity was served by Secretary of State, answered complaint without denying it was proper party, admitted it was correct entity that provided coverage to insured, and two years later amended answer to deny admission; employees do not recognize difference between any of insurer’s entities; entities share the same employees, contact person, website, administrative address, home office, mailing address and records location; and proper entity has been substituted as party in case; insurer was put on notice of claim, and insurer’s entities are sufficiently related that no prejudice will occur from applying relation back doctrine to demand letter — Insurer’s motion for summary judgment denied

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 1091a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Where medical provider sent pre-suit demand letter and filed suit before providing insurer with x-ray report requested in explanation of benefits, demand letter was sent before bills became overdue and was premature — Where provider did not serve another demand letter after claim became overdue ten days after insurer received x-ray report, suit is premature — Where bills were not overdue when suit was filed, insurer was not in breach of contract at that time, and complaint is legal nullity

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 88b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Sufficiency — Demand letter that states it is demand letter under section 627.736 but fails to specify subsection (11), lists medical provider by shortened version of its name and was not sent to person and address specified by insurer to receive notice on behalf of insurer does not meet statutory requirements — Argument that insurer can never change person designated to receive notice or that insurer is required to notify counsel when name of person is changed is rejected

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 88a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Sufficiency — Demand letter that states it is demand letter under section 627.736 but fails to specify subsection (11) and which was not sent to person and address specified by insurer to receive notice on behalf of insurer does not meet statutory requirements — Argument that insurer can never change person designated to receive notice or that insurer is required to notify counsel when name of person is changed is rejected

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 346a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — So long as insurer is put on notice of identity of medical provider which claims it has not been paid, it does not matter that demand letter is sent by provider’s billing agency after valid assignment of benefits from insured to provider has been made

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 155b

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Plaintiff could not rely on demand letters filed by billing service company on behalf of former assignee to satisfy statutory requirement that he provide insurer with written notice of intent to initiate litigation — Having failed to meet condition precedent to suit, plaintiff cannot bring this action

13 Fla. L. Weekly Supp. 391a

Insurance — Personal injury protection — Demand letter — Where demand letter did not specify that exact amount being claimed was for interest, but instead, specified that full amount of charges for date of service was due, medical provider failed to comply with statutory condition precedent to filing PIP suit