Conclusion

Thanks to the active claims management on the part of the insurance and reinsurance companies in close collaboration with the motorway authorities, the loss was adjusted efficiently and with a substantial reduction in the claims expenditure.

The various dimensions of the major loss are particularly worthy of emphasis. It was not just a case of discussing the engineering issues and handling the settlement of the material losses in a competent manner: the entire tragedy of the accident had to be taken into consideration as well.

On 15 September 2005, the driver who caused the accident was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment for involuntary manslaughter. The sentence became final in February 2006. Professional crisis management on the part of all the parties involved was essential because of the tremendous public interest in Germany. It also ensured that a major inner-German east-west link was only interrupted for a limited time and that the contaminated soil at the scene of the accident was quickly removed, thus preventing any impairment of the drinking water and averting a business interruption loss.

This loss made it apparent not only to the German market that covers with unlimited liability are not just a theoretical risk for the insurance industry. Exposures may emerge in individual cases that justify introducing liability limits in motor liability insurance.

Editorial note

Schadenspiegel would like to thank the Road Construction Department of North Rhine-Westphalia, Gelsenkirchen, for its support with regard to the content of this article.

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