April International condemned by AOC Insurance Broker Tribunal de commerce de Paris 15th chamber 02/10/2023

April International condemned by AOC Insurance Broker Tribunal de commerce de Paris 15th chamber 02/10/2023

Dear Clients, Insurance Brokers,

Following the sudden departure of an employee (named RC), AOC Insurance Broker (LF Finance SAS) (named AOCB and LF in the judgment) was the victim of a client hijacking.

While several insurance partners of AOC Insurance Broker did not wish to join in this dishonest approach, April International Care made a different choice.

This choice led to a dispute being brought before the French courts, as April International Care put forward arguments such as:

"...the partnership agreement does not provide for any exclusivity...,
Insured policyholders are not captive .../...,
April Courtage Thailande ...,
These policies, which are governed by foreign law, are not subject to the provisions of the brokerage code of practice,
... " 
 
The French court's decision to condemn RC, April International Care and GIE April Courtage clarifies these points.

This judgment marks the relationship between suppliers (such as April International Care France and GIE April Courtage) and brokers, including in the context of international insurance policies.

Although the Commercial Court of Paris has clearly designated the fault of each party, and this decision has not been appealed, April International Care France and GIE April Courtage have decided to terminate the partnership agreement with AOC Insurance Broker signed on 12/01/2011 and to close the associated access for the management of our policyholders. This decision seems to be no coincidence.

We opposed this decision on the basis of abusive termination, which should be the subject of a new dispute with April International Care France and GIE April Courtage, to date without any response from the management.

We are publishing this judgement publicly because its purpose is to provide legitimate information to the public and to serve the general interest, in line with our freedom of expression.

We will never stop defending the Rights and Interests of our insured and expatriate consumer clients throughout the world in strict compliance with the regulations, even if this means filing complaints and initiating litigation.

This article in English is only a translation of the same content in French on our website which remains the original content.