You told your insurance agent what you needed, trusted them to set it up, and went on with your life assuming you were covered. Then a loss happened, and you found out the coverage you thought you had either wasn't there or wasn't enough. Discovering that gap at the exact moment you need protection is its own kind of harm. When an agent or broker fails to obtain the coverage they took responsibility for, they can be held accountable for the shortfall.

What Is Negligent Procurement?

Insurance agents and brokers have a duty to use reasonable care when obtaining the coverage a client asks for. Negligent procurement is what happens when they fall short of that duty, leaving the client without the protection they requested and paid for. It is a professional negligence claim, and it turns on what the client asked the agent to do and whether the agent did it competently.

Common Examples of Negligent Procurement

• Failing to obtain the type or amount of coverage the client requested
• Securing coverage with limits too low for a foreseeable loss
• Allowing a policy to lapse or failing to renew it
• Failing to add coverage for a known risk, property, vehicle, or driver
• Misrepresenting what a policy actually covers

Proving a Negligent Procurement Claim

These claims generally require showing that the agent or broker agreed to obtain specific coverage, failed to use reasonable care in doing so, and that this failure caused a loss the requested coverage would have covered. Records of what was requested and promised, from emails to applications to prior policies, are often the difference between a strong case and a difficult one, which is why acting quickly to preserve them matters.

Who Can Be Held Responsible

Depending on the facts, responsibility may fall on the insurance agent, the broker, the agency they work for, and in some situations the insurer.

Compensation

A successful claim can recover the benefits that proper coverage would have provided, along with other losses caused by the coverage gap.

Experience With Agent and Broker Negligence

Cases against insurance professionals require both an understanding of how coverage is supposed to work and the willingness to hold a broker accountable when it doesn't. Todd Poses and Adam Boumel have litigated exactly these disputes. Most notably, we recovered $2.6 million in a case where an insurance broker negligently failed to secure adequate coverage. You work directly with your attorneys from start to finish.

Contact the Negligent Procurement Attorneys at Poses Boumel Today

It costs nothing to talk to us. Poses Boumel represents policyholders and injured people throughout Florida from our office in downtown Miami, and we serve clients in English and Spanish. Call 305-577-0200 during our listed office hours or leave a message any time, or reach us through the contact form on our website. Your consultation is free and confidential, with no obligation.