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GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

LEUE & NILL GmbH + Co KG, Hohenzollernstr. 2-6, 44135 Dortmund, Germany

§ 1 Contractual partner

The contractual partners and the scope of the broker mandate are specified in the insurance broker mandate on which the contractual relationship is based.

§ 2 Position of the insurance broker

  1. The insurance broker is an independent trader and takes on the brokerage or conclusion of insurance contracts for the client without being entrusted with this by an insurer or an insurance agent (Section 59 (3) VVG).
  2. The insurance broker is an independent insurance intermediary who is legally and economically on the side of his client, whose interests he must safeguard in accordance with instructions. Statements that he forwards to the insurers on behalf of his client are attributed to the client.
  3. The insurance broker is neither directly nor indirectly involved in one or more insurance companies. He shall act exclusively in the interests of the client at his reasonable discretion and with the diligence of a prudent businessman.
  4. The insurance broker declares that he has the necessary official licenses. In fulfillment of the information obligation incumbent upon him in this respect pursuant to § 11 Vers-VermV, the client shall receive separate client information.
  5. The insurance brokerage activity exclusively comprises the brokerage of insurance contracts under private law. Advice or support for statutory social insurance is not covered by the insurance brokerage activity.

§ 3 Commissioning of the insurance broker

  1. The insurance broker is commissioned by his client to act as a broker for specific insurance matters. This mandate extends to the insurance broker's future brokerage activities.
  2. Any extensions to the insurance brokerage activity must be expressly agreed in written supplements to the insurance brokerage contract. Verbal collateral agreements are not valid. The insurance broker is free to decide whether to accept the assignment. A request for advice from the client does not oblige the insurance broker to take action. An obligation to act only arises after the insurance brokerage contract has been signed by both parties or after insurance offers have been sent.
  3. An obligation to provide advice shall only exist for the brokerage orders accepted in writing in accordance with the recorded advice protocol, unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
  4. The insurance broker shall be given reasonable time to prepare the brokerage of an insurance contract relationship and to obtain various offers from the insurers. If the client requires immediate cover for a risk, he must agree immediate action with the insurance broker in writing.
  5. The insurance broker cannot guarantee that an insurer will declare provisional cover. The client's attention has been drawn to the fact that he will only have insurance cover from the date to be specified following written confirmation from an insurer.

§ 4 Scope of the activity

On the basis of this contract, the insurance broker shall provide the client with all services that are normally provided by an insurance broker to his client. There is no entitlement to a specific scope of advice. The order shall be executed in accordance with the principles of proper professional practice and appropriate discretion. The processing of the brokerage request can only be based on the facts described by the client.

§ 5 (Cooperation) obligations of the client
  1. The insurance broker can only act as a representative of the client's interests in his insurance matters if he is fully informed. The client is therefore obliged to cooperate, in particular to provide complete and truthful information without delay, insofar as this is necessary for the proper execution of the assignment. In particular, he must provide the insurance broker, without being asked, with all documents and information required for the execution of the order in a complete, correct and orderly manner and in good time so that the insurance broker processing the order has a reasonable processing time available. The client must inform the insurance broker immediately in writing of all events and circumstances that may be of significance for the execution of the order.
  2. Both the client and the insurer are obliged to leave the contract-related correspondence between them to the insurance broker or, if necessary, to conduct it exclusively via the insurance broker. The client cannot rely on the insurance broker being informed by the insurer. The client is obliged to provide the insurer's contract-related correspondence to the insurance broker. The insurance broker shall not be liable for any losses incurred as a result of non-compliance with the correspondence obligation because the insurance broker was not informed.
  3. If changes occur in the risk circumstances or the facts communicated, the client is obliged to inform the insurance broker immediately and in writing. If the client fails to do so, there may be no claim under the insurance contract.
  4. If the insurance broker forwards documents, in particular insurance policies and terms and conditions or premium invoices, to the client for information, the client is obliged to check these for factual accuracy and completeness without special request and to inform the insurance broker immediately of any errors or inaccuracies.
  5. The client undertakes to pass on the results of the insurance broker's work only with the insurance broker's written consent, unless the content of the order already provides consent to pass them on to a specific third party. For insurance analyses and individually created coverage concepts, the insurance broker shall claim copyright protection in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act.
  6. The obligations arising from the insurance contracts, such as premium payments and compliance with obligations, etc., must be fulfilled by the client.

§ 6 Failure to cooperate

  1. If the client fails to cooperate in accordance with § 5 or for other reasons or is in default of acceptance of the service offered by the insurance broker, the insurance broker shall be entitled to set a reasonable deadline and at the same time declare that he will refuse to continue the contract after expiry of the deadline. If the deadline expires without success, the insurance broker may terminate the brokerage contract without notice with immediate effect.
  2. The insurance broker shall not be liable for losses attributable to omitted or incomplete information provided by the client. The aforementioned termination provision remains unaffected by this.
  3. The place of delivery of all correspondence with the client shall be the address given when the order was placed. If the client does not immediately notify us in writing of a change of address, this provision shall continue to apply, with the result that the receipt of declarations of intent shall be deemed to have taken place.
  4. If a deadline or a legal claim for the client can only be met by making a declaration, the client agrees that this declaration can also be made by the insurance broker without express consent with the presumed consent of the client if the insurance broker has the necessary information.

§ 7 Tasks of the insurance broker

The insurance broker assumes the following tasks under this contract:

  1. Determining the wishes and needs of the client.
  2. The selection of suitable insurers and insurance products that meet the wishes and needs communicated by the client.
  3. Advice according to professional criteria within the scope of a proper discretion as to which insurance contract is suitable to meet the client's needs.
  4. The documentation of the wishes and needs of the client and the advice given by the insurance broker as well as the express instructions of the client. The documentation shall take into account a measured relationship between the cost of the advice and the premium to be paid by the client and insofar as there is reason to do so in view of the difficulty/complexity of assessing the insurance offered or in view of the person of the client and his situation.
  5. The monitoring and ongoing management of the insurance policies and, after consultation with the client, the adjustment of the insurance cover to changing risk and market conditions. In this context, the insurance broker is under no obligation to obtain information about the client's risk situation on an ongoing basis. This does not apply in cases where the insurance broker is under an independent obligation to provide information based on information received from the client or based on information that the insurance broker has received from other sources about the client.
  6. The examination and forwarding of documents relating to the brokered insurance contract relationship.
  7. Supporting the client in the event of a claim against the insurer.
  8. The independent transfer of insurance cover if it is necessary to grant or maintain the desired insurance cover and the client's instructions cannot be obtained in good time.
  9. As part of the performance of the insurance broker's duties, the insurance broker shall provide information on the brokered contractual relationship at any time at the request of the client. The insurance broker shall only provide information and recommendations at the written request of the client. Verbal information is non-binding and must always be confirmed in writing by the insurance broker.
  10. The insurance broker takes over the processing of payment transactions.

§ 8 Services of the insurance broker

  1. The insurance broker selects offers for the client on the basis of a sufficient number of insurance contracts available on the market and from insurers. Based on professional criteria, the insurance broker makes a recommendation as to which insurance contract is suitable to meet the client's needs.
  2. The insurance broker has made a selection of the insurers to be considered at his reasonable discretion, unless the client issues separate express instructions. The insurance broker shall only consider those insurers who are willing to cooperate with him and pay him a customary brokerage fee for his activities. The insurance broker will not consider direct insurers or cover concepts that are not freely available on the insurance market. If the client nevertheless expressly requests such brokerage, a separate fee shall be agreed in each case.
  3. The insurance broker shall endeavor to find a suitable insurer for the client's needs and shall inform the client of the status of his efforts. The client is aware that insurance cover does not arise upon conclusion of this contract, but only when a legally effective insurance contract has been brokered and the premium has been paid.

§ 9 Obligations of the insurance broker

  1. The insurance broker must ask the client about his wishes and needs and advise him, taking into account an appropriate relationship between the cost of advice and the premium to be paid by the client and insofar as there is reason to do so in view of the difficulty of assessing the insurance offered or the person of the client and his situation, and must state the reasons for any advice given on a particular insurance policy. Taking into account the complexity of the insurance contract offered, he must communicate this clearly and comprehensibly in text form before the contract is concluded.
  2. The advice and information may be provided verbally if the client so wishes or if and insofar as the insurer grants provisional cover. In these cases, the information must be made available to the client in text form immediately after conclusion of the contract, unless the client has declared a corresponding waiver in writing.
  3. The insurance broker has informed the client of his own status and of the complaints and arbitration procedure with the ombudsman.
  4. The insurance broker undertakes to inform the insurers in accordance with the instructions of his client.

§ 10 Duration of contract

The insurance brokerage contract is concluded for an indefinite period. It begins with the legally valid signature by the insurance broker and the client. The contract can be terminated in writing by either party with a notice period of 3 months to the end of a calendar year. This notice period is necessary to ensure proper processing. Other statutory termination options remain unaffected by this. 

§ 11 Remuneration

Apart from the obligation to pay the insurance premium to the insurance company, the client incurs no further costs for the brokerage activities of the insurance broker. Under customary law, the insurance company shall bear the remuneration for the brokerage and support activities of the insurance broker. If an arrangement deviating from this is to be made, this requires a separate written agreement.

§ 12 Liability

  1. The insurance broker's liability for cases of slightly negligent breach of his contractual obligations is limited to a maximum amount of € 5 million per claim. The insurance broker has taken out financial loss liability insurance up to this liability amount.
  2. Claims for damages arising from the insurance broker contract due to a culpable breach of duty shall become time-barred after 3 years. The limitation period shall commence at the time at which the client became aware of the damage and the person liable to pay compensation or should have become aware of it without gross negligence. Claims for damages shall expire at the latest 3 years after the termination of the insurance brokerage contract.
  3. The limitations of liability regulated in § 12 clause l shall not apply if the liability of the insurance broker is based on injury to life, limb or health, on cardinal obligations or guarantees given in writing or on fraudulent intent. The limitation of liability in terms of amount shall not apply if the insurance broker can be proven to have knowingly breached an obligation or to have acted with gross negligence.
  4. If the client fails to provide complete, timely or truthful information, the insurance broker shall not be liable for any disadvantages or damages suffered by the client.
  5. The insurance broker is not liable for the accuracy of computerized calculations or for product details and insurance conditions of the insurer.
  6. The insurance broker shall not be liable for financial losses resulting from a slightly negligent breach of secondary obligations.

§ 13 Assignment

  1. All rights or claims of the client against the insurance broker arising from this contractual relationship are not transferable, assignable or encumberable.
  2. Offsetting by the client against a claim by the insurance broker is not permitted unless the client's claims are undisputed or have been legally established.

§ 14 Retention of documents

  1. The insurance broker must keep the client documents and the consultation records for a period of 5 years after the end of the contract. However, this obligation shall expire before the end of this period if the insurance broker has requested the client in writing to take receipt of the documents and the client has not complied with this request within 6 weeks of receipt.
  2. The client documents within the meaning of this provision include all documents that the insurance broker has obtained from or for the client in the course of his professional activity. This does not apply to correspondence between the insurance broker and his client and to documents which the latter has already received in original or copy form, or to working papers prepared for internal purposes.
  3. At the request of the client, the insurance broker must return the documents provided to him to the client within a reasonable period of time. The insurance broker may make and retain copies or photocopies of documents that he returns to the client.
  4. The insurance broker may refuse to hand over work results and documents until any existing claims for payment have been satisfied.

§ 15 Power of attorney

The insurance broker's powers of representation vis-à-vis the insurance company are derived from the insurance broker mandate issued by the client.

§ 16 Data protection

  1. In fulfillment of the controller's duty to inform the data subject, the client receives separate information and a declaration of consent for data processing upon conclusion of the contract. The contractor can obtain information about the responsibilities and rights of the data subject on an ongoing basis under Privacy Policy.
  2. The main legal basis for the processing of the client's data is Article 6(1)(b) GDPR: Processing is necessary for the performance of a contract.... (brokerage contract, service contract) If the data is used for a purpose other than the purpose for which it was collected, a separate agreement with the client is required.
  3. Within the scope of the mandate, the client agrees that the insurers contacted by the insurance broker may, to the extent necessary, transmit data resulting from the application documents or the execution of the contract (e.g. premiums, insured events, changes to the contract) to reinsurers for the purpose of assessing the risk and processing the reinsurance, as well as to other insurers and their association for the purpose of assessing the risk and claims. This consent also applies, irrespective of the conclusion of the contract, for the corresponding review of insurance contracts applied for elsewhere and for future applications.
  4. The client further agrees that these insurers, insofar as this is necessary for the proper conduct of his insurance affairs, may keep general contract, settlement and benefit data in joint data collections and pass them on to the insurance broker.
  5. Health data may only be transmitted to insurers and reinsurers. It may only be passed on to other insurance brokers if this is necessary for the drafting of the contract.

§ 17 Final provisions

  1. Amendments or additions to this contract must be made in writing. The written form requirement can only be waived by written agreements.
  2. Should a provision of this agreement be or become invalid or should a loophole be found, this shall not affect the validity of the contract as a whole. Rather, the invalid provision or the loophole must be closed by a provision that comes closest to the intended purpose.
  3. The place of jurisdiction is the registered office of the insurance broker, subject to German law.

Status: 09.2019

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