26.09.2024 [3 O 193/22] Lübeck Regional Court, judgment

In the event of a (real) traffic accident, liability insurance must cover the damage. However, if the insurance company accepts that the accident was handled, it must prove that the injured party agreed to the “accident”. The regional court of Lübeck recently denied such treatment and ordered the insurance company to pay.

A young man had a party at his parents’ house. At 2 a.m., guest got back into the host father’s car. The father demanded compensation from the liability insurance company, but they refused to pay. She said that the host – in consultation with the host – had deliberately driven into the car to collect the insurance money.

The regional court of Lübeck decided that the insurance company must compensate for the damage. The court questioned the driver and other party guests about the incident and a technical expert was also called in. As a result the court came to the conclusion that the driver had crashed into the father’s car accidentally and that there was no way for an accident to have been handled.

In the event of a traffic accident, the injured party must prove that the person who committed the crime damaged their vehicle. If the liability insurance company believes that the accident was agreed, they must prove that the injured party agreed to the damages. However, the insurance company was unable to provide such evidence. Things may be different if there is a collection of so-called evidence about the handling of an accident, for example in the case of a question of guilt that seems clear such as right-before-left violations in remote places late in the evening, when they are not involved. no witnesses are expected.