Napolitano v. Ace American Ins. Co.

Summary

The court held that statutory compliance with the workers’ compensation cancellation-reporting statute does not replace the insurer’s contractual duty to provide the insured with a definite, certain, and unambiguous cancellation notice. In determining whether cancellation was effective, a court must consider all relevant communications between the insurer and insured, not merely the notice filed with the commission. Because the insurer’s communications were objectively ambiguous, the policy remained in effect and the trial court’s judgment for the plaintiff was reinstated.