That comes from a judgment of District Court Koblenz (Az. Az 16 S 2/21) which was announced on November 3, 2021. The court rejected the action brought by an insurer who had demanded 500 euros from an insured person. “In the case of a simple negligent breach, however, this amount of the contractual penalty is disproportionate to its consequences in view of the possibly low weight of the breach of contract,” was the final judgment.
The defendant had insured his vehicle with a maximum mileage of 15,000 kilometers per year. As part of an accident settlement, the insurance company noticed that this had been exceeded. She therefore demanded a contractual penalty.
According to the court, the model terms and conditions of the General Association of the German Insurance Industry only provide for a contractual penalty if the number of kilometers indicated is deliberately too low per year. The contractual conditions in the current case also referred to negligent behavior. According to this, the penalty would have been due if only one kilometer was not reported. This unreasonably disadvantages the policyholder. dpa / nd
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