Imagine this nightmare scenario, you instruct your long-time insurance agent to obtain primary and excess property insurance coverage on your home because you know that accidents and catastrophic weather can strike at any time. The agent assures you that he has obtained the coverage you requested, prompting you to sign the contract without hesitation because you believe your agent is a superhero and can do no wrong. Subsequently, a hurricane strikes, severely damaging your home. You file an insurance claim expecting that you are fully covered for the damage. However, you discover that your insurance policy coverage is significantly less than the costs to repair your home. Can you sue your agent and recover damages? Yes.
In Louisiana, an insurance agent who agrees to procure insurance for another owes an obligation to his client to use reasonable diligence in attempting to place the insurance requested and to notify the client promptly if he has failed to obtain the requested insurance.
The client of an insurance agent may recover from the agent the loss he sustains as a result of the agent’s failure to procure the client’s desired coverage if the actions of the agent warranted an assumption by the client that he was properly insured in the amount of the desired coverage. To recover, the client must establish: (1) an undertaking or agreement by the insurance agent to procure insurance; (2) failure of the agent to use reasonable diligence to obtain insurance and to notify the client promptly of the absence of coverage; and (3) actions by the agent which warranted the client’s assumption that he was insured in the amount of the desired coverage.
If your properly was underinsured due to the negligence of your insurance agent, Whaley Law Firm will see to it that your insurance agent and/or insurer is held responsible.