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Can the Public Really Count on Insurance Agents to Advise Them? A Critique of the "Special Circumstances" Test

Abstract

Because insurance is a major consideration in many business and personal decisions, insurance agents have assumed a professional role in today's society. Many courts, however, still treat agents as mere salespersons and not professionals. Further, these courts believe that the public can transverse the labyrinth of insurance coverages by themselves, without their agents' advice. By applying a judicially created "special circumstances" test, these same courts hold that agents generally have no duty to advise their clients and empower judges to dismiss clients' claims. This Note argues that the "special circumstances" test should be discarded. In its place, this Note advocates the Arizona approach, which collapses a possible duty to advise into a general professional duty of care owed by insurance agents to their clients and allows juries to make the ultimate decisions.

How to Cite

42 Ariz. L. Rev. 991 (2000)

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Authors

Daniel Gregory Sakall

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