What do refueling operations have to do with the theft of goods?

The driver could not explain the shortfall: The loading space would not have looked any different when unloading than when loading; he would have had to take an overnight break, but would have spent it in the truck as usual and in a parking lot that was well lit and where there were numerous other vehicles. He himself and other drivers had not noticed any particular incidents during the night. A police report was made, but - unfortunately as usual - no findings were made.

The burden of proof rules of the CMR stipulate that the carrier must "freely prove" itself in order to avert liability. The damage - the missing 16 tons of food - was invoiced to him; the carrier felt this was "unfair", but ultimately, according to the freight documents, 24 tons were accepted for transport and only 8 tons were delivered: So the shortfall of 16 tons seemed to be a fact.

With this knowledge and the necessary documents such as driver's log, consignment note, tachograph disk, damage invoice and proof of value, the case landed on the desk of the responsible expert at Lutz Assekuranz. A claim of almost EUR 100,000 was on the table: if the insurer had to pay this, the customer's claim ratio would be impaired for years. The customer was well aware of this unpleasant circumstance, but had little hope of being able to turn this unfortunate situation around.

The transport law expert at Lutz Assekuranz examined the matter and requested the customer's fuel consumption data. This initially led to astonishment: after all, it was not the diesel that was stolen, but the goods being transported. Nevertheless, the consumption data was sent - and the expert at Lutz Assekuranz discovered something astonishing. To be more precise: she did not recognize what was to be expected in the incident as described.

Anyone working in the transport industry knows that fully loaded vehicles need more diesel than empty ones. Accordingly, the consumption of a vehicle that is two-thirds unloaded is significantly lower than before - so significantly, in fact, that this can be clearly seen in the consumption values. In the case of damage described, however, the consumption after the night break was more or less the same as before (and as during the entire process); only after complete discharge does the consumption of the now completely empty vehicle decrease noticeably.

The expert at Lutz Assekuranz clearly recognized that the goods could not have been lost during transport, i.e. while the carrier was in charge. The claimant's claim was rejected, as the above-mentioned "free evidence" had now been provided.

The policies of Lutz Assekuranz usually also include defense cover as part of the conditions: In order to prepare for a claim for damages, the employee's findings were verified by an external expert - but this was ultimately not necessary: The meticulous work meant that a claim for damages was not even attempted - the rejection was accepted and the customer's policy remained untouched to the customer's utmost satisfaction.