Insurers who find it necessary to sue an insurance agent for negligence, and the agent sued for negligence, should retain the services of an expert as soon as possible who can testify convincingly that the agent failed to act, or did in fact act, in conformance with the custom and practice of the industry. For want of an expert witness, Celina Mutual Insurance Co. lost its action against an insurance broker who decided to advise its insured to misrepresent a material fact about a prior fire loss. Had Celina known the truth, it would not have issued the policy.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals, in Celina Mutual Insurance Co. v. Harbor Insurance Agency LLC, No. 2009-CA-000790-MR (Ky. App. 07/16/2010) held that expert testimony was required to establish an insurance agent's professional negligence.
Related: Read Barry Zalma's August Down to Cases column: “Do agents owe clients fiduciary duty?”
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