Courts considering agent and broker errors and omissions claims are relying more and more on a presumption that intermediaries are–and present themselves as–experts in insurance coverage.

This trend means that more juries may be charged with deciding whether a very general request for coverage from a customer can form the basis of a claim for negligence or breach of contract against their agent or broker, when it turns out the customer doesn't have sufficient insurance to cover a specific loss.

A September 2007 ruling from the Appellate Division, First Department of the Supreme Court of New York in Hersch vs. DeWitt Stern Group Inc., provides one example of the trend.

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