In a split decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held an insurer's notice of cancellation of an insured's life insurance policy complied with a North Carolina statutory requirement to send notice to the insured's last known post-office address "in this State" before canceling the policy, where the insurer sent the notice to the insured's address in South Carolina, rather than North Carolina, after the insured moved to South Carolina. The majority held that requiring notice to a North Carolina address, when it was undisputed that the insured had moved to South Carolina, contravened the purpose of the statute.

In Whitmire v. Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company, Mr. Whitmire, as beneficiary, filed suit against Southern Farm Bureau Life Insurance Company (Farm Bureau) seeking enforcement of his deceased wife's life insurance policy. He argued Farm Bureau had failed to comply with the statutory requirement that an insurer doing business in North Carolina may not cancel a life insurance policy within one year from failure to pay a premium unless a notice meeting certain requirements is "addressed and mailed, postage paid, to the person whose life is insured … at his or her last known post-office address in this State[.]" (N.C. Gen. Stat §58-58-120). Specifically, Mr. Whitmire contended Farm Bureau failed to comply with the requirement that notice be mailed to the last known post-office address "in this State" when the insurer mailed notice of cancelation to Ms. Whitmire's last known post-office address in South Carolina.

Statutory Interpretation

Courts are often tasked with interpreting and applying legislation. Sometimes the language of a statute has a clear, unambiguous meaning, but on some occasions there is ambiguity that must be resolved by a court. When ambiguity exists, judges may use various tools of statutory interpretation, including legislative history and purpose, to interpret a statute.