Liability of insurance intermediaries | Legal aid centre

Questioner

I had my car fully insured through an intermediary and now my navigation system has been stolen from the car. It now appears that the intermediary should have reported this separately to the insurance company that there was a navigation system in the car. He did not ask me whether there was a navigation system in the car and therefore did not report this to the insurance company. Suppose the insurance company does not pay out, can I hold the intermediary liable for negligence and recover the damages from him?

Lawyer

Depending on the assignment between you and the intermediary, this may be the case. If the intermediary makes a mistake in providing adequate coverage, he has not acted as a reasonable and competent intermediary may be expected to act. This therefore depends on the circumstances.

Lawyer

The question is actually: has your intermediary fulfilled the duty of care incumbent on him as an independent insurance intermediary pursuant to Article 7:401 of the Dutch Civil Code? The starting point for the assessment is that an insurance intermediary must exercise the care towards his client in the exercise of his profession that may be expected of a reasonably competent and reasonably acting insurance intermediary. The scope of that duty of care depends on the circumstances of the case, in particular the nature and content of the assignment and the interests of the client, insofar as they are known to the intermediary. The insurance intermediary must safeguard the interests of the policyholder in the insurance policies that form part of his portfolio (Supreme Court 10 January 2003, NJ 2003/375). I can tell you that your intermediary, who mediates in an insurance policy where navigation equipment must be insured separately, is in my opinion liable if he does not declare that equipment separately to the insurer.

Questioner

Thank you for your response.