Congratulations to Carina Kraatz on her successful resolution of a Midland flood case before the Michigan Supreme Court.

Following the catastrophic flooding in Midland in 2020, the plaintiff business asserted a claim for approximately $10 million in damages. The claim was denied by the insurance carrier due to the absence of flood insurance. In response, the plaintiff sued its insurance agency for errors and omissions, asserting that the agent failed to secure flood insurance and neglected to advise them on obtaining it, considering their business’s location in a flood-prone area.

The defendant filed a motion for summary disposition for dismissal by the trial court on the basis that the plaintiff never requested flood insurance and that no special duty of an insurance agent to advise had been established. The trial court agreed that there was no evidence of a special relationship and that the agent had not breached any duty owed to the plaintiff. The court clarified that the agent’s responsibility was strictly to procure the insurance explicitly requested by the plaintiff.

The Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the trial court’s ruling finding that the insurance agency had fulfilled its obligations and that the agent was not required to inform the plaintiff about the inadequacy of coverage resulting from the lack of flood insurance.

The Michigan Supreme Court, denied the application for leave to appeal, reinforcing the lower courts’ conclusions.

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