Court Opinion

ID: 9717271
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 07:00:59.467431+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:52.228778
License: Public Domain

FLAHERTY, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent. Until today an insurance company on the facts pleaded in this case has had no fiduciary duty to an insured, even when it advised its insured that he does not need a lawyer. But if, under the guise of “fair dealing and good faith,” we are now to decide that insurance companies have a fiduciary duty to advise of every possible claim, surely insurance companies will cease even to talk to claimants for fear of breaching this new judicially declared duty. However, with such a duty, if they do continue to talk to claimants, what will their obligations be? Are they obligated to advise of innovative claims against themselves? Are they obligated to inform claimants of an improbable but perhaps conceivable claim that they themselves would not agree to pay? Are they, as in this case, obligated to be on the lookout for changes in the law which might be favorable to a claimant? Until today, insurance companies have had none of these obligations.
As much as we all would like to see unfortunate victims of automobile accidents compensated fully, such compensation cannot be achieved at the cost of dismantling the insurance industry. It has always been the case that insurance companies, insureds and claimants are potential adversaries. An insured knows or should know this upon entering into an insurance contract, and a contract is what it is. When a loss occurs, it has always been the prerogative of an insurance company to make offers of settlement, and it has always been the prerogative of the insured to accept or reject them. Whether to accept or reject the offer, however, is a decision that only the claimant can make. If for some reason, the offer does not satisfy him, he is perfectly *484free to seek independent legal counsel, notwithstanding advice to the contrary by the insurance company. To change this traditional underlying arrangement, to transform insurance companies into legal advisors for claimants, is unprecedented. In sum, I cannot believe that the approach outlined in the majority opinion will benefit anyone, and in the long run it will certainly harm the interests of those it seeks to protect.
ZAPPALA, J., joins in this Dissenting Opinion.