Axis Construction Corp. v. O'Brien Agency, Inc.
Opinion of the Court
An insurance agent or broker has a common-law duty to obtain requested coverage for a client within a reasonable amount of time, or to inform the client of the inability to do so (see Hoffend & Sons, Inc. v Rose & Kiernan, Inc., 7 NY3d 152, 157 [2006]; Murphy v Kuhn, 90 NY2d 266, 270 [1997]; Core-Mark Intl., v Swett & Crawford Inc., 71 AD3d 1072 [2010]; Verbert v Garcia, 63 AD3d 1149 [2009]). Absent a specific request for coverage not already in a client’s policy or the existence of a special relationship with the client, an insurance agent or broker has no continuing duty to advise, guide, or direct a client to obtain additional coverage (see Hoffend & Sons, Inc. v Rose & Kiernan, Inc., 7 NY3d at 157-158; Murphy v Kuhn, 90 NY2d at 270-271; Verbert v Garcia, 63 AD3d 1149 [2009]). A special relationship which gives rise to a duty to advise may exist, inter alia, where “there is a course of dealing over an extended period of time which would have put objectively reasonable insurance agents on notice that their advice was being sought and specially relied on” (Murphy v Kuhn, 90 NY2d at 272).
Here, the defendants made a prima facie showing of their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law by submitting evidence which established that the plaintiff did not specifically request that they procure construction management professional liability insurance coverage (see Verbert v Garcia, 63 AD3d 1149 [2009]; Fremont Realty, Inc. v P & N Iron Works, Inc., 39 AD3d 586, 587 [2007]). Contrary to the Supreme Court’s determination, however, the plaintiffs evidentiary submissions in opposition were sufficient to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether there was a course of dealing between the parties over
The defendants’ remaining contention is without merit. Balkin, J.E, Eng, Belen and Lott, JJ., concur. [Prior Case History: 2009 NY Slip Op 3249KU).]
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.