Opinion ID: 2166949
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: PIP Benefit Action Accrues Upon Denial

Text: There is no cause of action until there is a right to bring suit or until a present remedy exists. Mergenthaler v. Asbestos Corp. of America, Del.Super., 534 A.2d 272, 276 (1987). This Court examined the timeliness of a claim for uninsured motorist benefits under 18 Del.C. § 3902 in Allstate Ins. Co. v. Spinelli, Del.Supr., 443 A.2d 1286 (1982). [6] We held that the cause of action accrues only upon breach of the contract. Id. at 1292. This Court noted that: [U]ntil a breach occurs, there is no justiciable controversy under the ... policy ... upon which a party may sue. So long as the parties to a contract perform in accordance with the bargained-for obligations, no party has cause to complain. Id. This reasoning applies to claims for payments under any insurance contract, including the statutorily mandated no-fault PIP aspects in an automobile insurance policy. Therefore, we hold that the insured does not have a justiciable controversy for PIP benefits until a request for PIP payments has been denied by the PIP insurer, i.e., a cause of action then accrues.