If an insurer is paid and refuses to offer benefit to a third party on the ground that they are not party to the contract, the third party may take action on the principles of unjust enrichment.
The key element of unjust enrichment is the unconscionability of the defendant’s conduct in retaining a particular benefit at the expense of the plaintiff. But this issue remains whether the benefit retained by the defendant is the premium paid or the promised benefit. An argument could be made that the defendant has been unjustly enriched only to the extent of the premium paid to it.
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