Insurance agents owe a duty to obtain the insurance and the coverage limits the customer requests. But when someone is hurt by the insured's actions, can the injured person, who isn't a party to the contract between the insured and the carrier, sue the agent because there wasn't enough insurance coverage to pay for the damages incurred? That was the question in a recent Ohio case that considered the issue of third-party recovery.
A criminally negligent dump truck driver caused an auto accident in which Lisa Emahiser was killed and her son was injured. It became apparent that the driver's employer, the dump truck company Rickey Paving, was inadequately insured under federal and state regulations as a commercial carrier. Its policy was capped at $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident.
Lisa Emahiser's estate claimed that Rickey Paving's agency Complete Coverage Insurance (CCI) was liable for “negligent procurement” by failing to have obtained the regulated amount of $750,000 in coverage for its client and that CCI should be responsible for all this accident's damages.
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