Professional liability insurance for lawyers
The professional liability insurance for lawyers in Germany is a liability insurance of lawyers , the financial losses covers incurred in a typically attributable to the lawyer's profession activity.
The insurance obligation also applies to partnership companies with limited professional liability ( Section 51a BRAO).
Personal injury and property damage are not covered .
The insurance must be fully proven both in the procedure for (initial) admission to the bar and for the entire duration of the legal activity ( Section 51 (1) sentence 1 BRAO ). Without this evidence, admission to the bar is to be refused or revoked ( Section 14 (2) No. 9 BRAO).
The insurance company must immediately notify the competent bar association of the beginning and the termination or termination of the insurance contract as well as any changes to the insurance contract ( Section 51 (6) BRAO). The Bar Association provides third parties with information about the insurance in individual cases to assert claims for damages.
The sum insured must currently be at least 250,000 euros per insured event. The benefit for all damage caused within an insurance year can be limited to 1,000,000 euros. Higher insurance is also possible in individual cases. If the premium applies to liability amounts of more than € 30 million, the lawyer can invoice the client for the additional costs on a pro-rata basis (No. 7007 of the RVG remuneration list ).
Liability claims against lawyers become statute-barred after three years ( Section 195 BGB) from the end of the year in which the claim arose ( Section 199 (1) No. 1 BGB) and the client from the person of the debtor and from the circumstances giving rise to the claim Obtained knowledge or should have obtained knowledge without gross negligence ( Section 199 (1) No. 2 BGB). Since the client is regularly inferior to legal laypersons and the lawyer is inferior in technical knowledge, the limitation period only begins when the client not only knows the essential factual circumstances, but also gains knowledge of facts that make it clear to him - especially if he is a legal layperson - shows that the legal advisor deviated from the usual legal procedure or did not take measures that were legally necessary to avoid damage. The clients of a lawyer are in need of protection in the same way as patients are in need of protection from their treating doctor , official liability creditor or investor .
Web links
- Munich Bar Association: professional liability insurance rak-muenchen.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Federal Bar Association : Legal liability brak.de
- ^ Günther Gentele: PartGmbB: Professional liability for the individual partners
- ↑ General Terms and Conditions of Professional Liability Insurance for Lawyers AVB-RSW 2008 (Parts 1 and 2) Section 1 No. 2
- ↑ BGH, judgment of October 22, 2012 - AnwZ (Brfg) 60/11
- ↑ BGH, judgment of February 6, 2014 - IX ZR 245/12
