Hoffman

Plaintiff and appellant Joseph Hoffman (Hoffman) appeals a summary judgment in favor of defendants and respondents Citadel General Assurance, Ltd. (Citadel), Canadian Marine International Underwriters, Ltd. (Canadian), and Beech Street Insurance Services (Beech) (collectively respondents).

Because Hoffman as an insured cannot rely on Insurance Code section 673, which protects insurers by requiring premium lenders to provide insurers with notice of cancellation, and for other reasons stated below, the judgment is affirmed.

Factual and Procedural Background

In September 1979, Hoffman obtained a policy of insurance for a yacht from Citadel for a premium of $1,000. Because Citadel was a nonadmitted insurer in California, Beech, a licensed surplus-lines broker, placed the insurance and issued the certificate of insurance to Hoffman. Canadian acted as the underwriting manager. The term of the policy was for one year beginning September 14, 1979.

At the time Hoffman obtained the insurance, he was in the process of purchasing the yacht which was docked in St. Petersburg, Florida. A policy endorsement specified the navigation limits were confined to Tampa Bay, Florida;…