/ INSURANCE NEWS / WARNING OBLIGATION: THE INSURANCE AGENT MUST INFORM THE INSURED OF THE CHANGE IN THE CONTENT OF THE GUARANTEE

WARNING OBLIGATION: THE INSURANCE AGENT MUST INFORM THE INSURED OF THE CHANGE IN THE CONTENT OF THE GUARANTEE

The insurer must draw the attention of the insured to the possible reduction of the guarantee. This is the meaning of the judgment rendered by the Court of Cassation dated 8 March 2006 (Appeal n°: 05-11319) :

Having regard to articles 1147 of the Civil Code and L. 511-1 of the Insurance Code ;

Whereas, according to the contested infirmative judgment, Ms. de X…, had subscribed to the Drouot group, which became Axa assurances and then Axa France IARD, a multi-risk insurance contract comprising a guarantee theft of jewels ; that Mr. Y… general agent of Axa, made him subscribe a new police, in replacement of this contract; that having been the victim of a burglary in which jewels were stolen from him, Mme de X… sought the guarantee of the insurer, which refused to compensate him for this loss, the new policy does not cover the theft of jewelry ; that she assigned Axa and Mr. Y… before the tribunal de grande instance, in liability and compensation, invoking in particular a failure of the agent general to his duty of advice and information ;

Whereas, to say that Mr. Y… had not failed in his obligations, the judgment states that, in law, the fulfilment of the obligation of information by the insurance agent is characterized by the fact of signing and receiving a copy of the contract by the insured ; that it is consistent that Ms. de X… signed an unambiguous contract; that the clauses relating to theft insurance for jewelry and precious objects are clear and understandable from everyone ;

That by ruling in this way, when it found that the new policy subscribed by Ms. de X… with the same insurer, but did not include the jewelry theft guarantee acquired in the previous one, and without investigating whether Mr. Y… had drawn the insured’s attention to this reduction in guarantee, the Court of Appeal did not give a legal basis for its decision with regard to the aforementioned texts ;

BY THESE REASONS: BREAKS AND CANCELS”