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🔒 '''Duty of care''' is a legal obligation requiring a person or entity to act with a reasonable standard of caution and prudence to avoid causing foreseeable harm to others, and in the insurance industry it underpins the very exposures that [[Definition:Liability insurance | liability insurance]] is designed to cover. Every [[Definition:General liability insurance | general liability]], [[Definition:Professional liability insurance | professional liability]], and [[Definition:Directors and officers insurance (D&O) | directors and officers]] policy ultimately responds to allegations that the insured breached a duty of care owed to a third party or stakeholder. Beyond the coverage trigger, insurance professionals themselves — [[Definition:Insurance broker | brokers]], [[Definition:Underwriter | underwriters]], [[Definition:Loss adjuster | adjusters]], and [[Definition:Insurance agent | agents]] — owe duties of care to their clients and [[Definition:Policyholder | policyholders]], making the concept both a product concern and a professional conduct imperative.

⚙️ When a [[Definition:Policyholder | policyholder]] faces a [[Definition:Claim | claim]] alleging negligence, the core legal question is whether the insured owed a duty of care to the injured party, whether that duty was breached, and whether the breach caused the alleged damages. [[Definition:Claims handler | Claims handlers]] and [[Definition:Defense counsel | defense counsel]] retained by insurers analyze these elements to determine [[Definition:Coverage | coverage]] applicability and [[Definition:Liability | liability]] exposure. The standard of care varies by context — a surgeon is held to the standard of a competent medical professional, while a building owner is judged against the standard of a reasonable property occupier — and the applicable standard directly influences how [[Definition:Underwriter | underwriters]] assess risk in [[Definition:Professional liability insurance | professional lines]], [[Definition:Medical malpractice insurance | medical malpractice]], and [[Definition:Premises liability | premises liability]] classes.

💡 For insurance intermediaries, the duty of care carries particularly high stakes. [[Definition:Insurance broker | Brokers]] owe their clients a duty to understand needs, recommend appropriate coverage, and place policies with financially sound [[Definition:Insurance carrier | carriers]]; failure to do so can result in [[Definition:Errors and omissions insurance (E&O) | errors and omissions]] claims that are both expensive and reputationally damaging. Courts in the U.S. and UK have progressively expanded the scope of broker duties, encompassing obligations to advise on policy gaps, explain [[Definition:Policy exclusion | exclusions]], and notify clients of material changes in their [[Definition:Insurance carrier | carrier's]] [[Definition:Financial strength rating | financial strength]]. The evolving legal landscape around duty of care — including novel theories in [[Definition:Climate change | climate litigation]] and [[Definition:Cyber insurance | cyber]] negligence — continually reshapes the [[Definition:Liability | liability]] universe that insurers must anticipate and price.

'''Related concepts'''
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Definition:Negligence]]
* [[Definition:Professional liability insurance]]
* [[Definition:Errors and omissions insurance (E&O)]]
* [[Definition:Standard of care]]
* [[Definition:General liability insurance]]
* [[Definition:Liability insurance]]
{{Div col end}}

Definition:Duty of care - Revision history

PlumBot: Bot: Creating new article from JSON