Although a freelance lorry driver’s insurance provided cover for robbery, he has to compensate the owner of the cargo €74,000 because his insurance company said he was liable for the theft of goods from his trailer as he should have found a safer place to stop for his daily rest.
Polish news channel Polsat News published an investigative report about the story, which involved a Polish lorry driver whose load was robbed at a fuel station while he was on his daily rest. Although the haulier did have insurance for such a situation, his insurance provider refused to pay for the loss, saying that he should have driven further to a safer place to park.
Marcin Kowalski was transporting televisions from Poland to Italy via Germany when the incident happened. He had spent several hours in congestion on the motorways in Germany, especially around Berlin. As his driving hours were getting tight, he started looking for a place where he could stop to spend his rest time.
As he expected more congestion further down the road, he chose a fuel station that he could safely reach within his driving time. The other option was 75 km further, and he wasn’t sure he could make it there.
The fuel station was a standard service area – he said in the report:
“I had to stop because I thought there might not be a safer lorry parking further than the one I chose. It was Auto Hoff – a gas station, lit and paved. I stopped around 3 p.m. and went to sleep after 9:30 p.m.”
In the middle of the night, he woke up and got outside to check if everything was fine. By then, the lorry’s tarpaulin was cut and the televisions were gone. He then called the police.
The factory was compensated, but it’s the haulier who should pay for the loss, not the insurer
The factory had insurance for such losses and it was compensated without any further ado. However, the factory’s insurer wanted to be compensated by Generali Polska, the driver’s insurer. Generali passed the debt onto the driver, saying the robbery was his fault.
Generali Polska’s statement about the case reads as follows:
The car park where the driver was parked did not meet the requirements of a parking place with sensitive goods (…) The regulations allow for exceeding the working time if it is necessary to travel to the nearest place. In connection with the above – although we understand the situation of the carrier – compensation is not due. „
The haulier appealed against the insurer’s decision to the Financial Ombudsman. This is the only way in Poland he can challenge the decision, and if the authority doesn’t approve his appeal, there are no more options for him. Such a huge amount is more than likely to make the freelancer go bankrupt.
Drivers say the insurance companies have no idea about the reality
The report naturally caused a few waves Poland. Lorry drivers and hauliers say that the insurance company doesn’t know what the reality is in Germany regarding the time driving takes on the motorways and also the state of lorry parks.
„Stauland” – that’s how lorry drivers call Germany among each other as road works and congestion happen every day on the motorways. For truckers, congestion is not a simple nuisance as it affects where they can stop when they run out of driving time.
Photo credit @ Pixabay