Can an insurer be vicariously liable for an agent's failure to obtain agreed upon coverage?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Pelonis v. Am. Gen. Life Ins. Co., B237098 (Cal. App. 2012):

Appellants rely on a line of cases holding an agent negligent in failing to obtain agreed-upon coverage, and the insurer vicariously liable for the agent's negligence. (See, e.g., Butcher v. Truck Ins. Exchange (2000) 77 Cal.App.4th 1442, 1461-1463 and cases cited in that case.) But appellant's case does not involve an agent's failure to obtain requested coverage, and, as we explained above, appellants' negligent representation claim itself, along with their other claims, is time barred. The only question is whether appellants may proceed as to premiums paid within the four-year statutory period for breach of a written contract.

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