Insurer's Refusal to Cover the Loss of a Set of Keys Entrusted to the Insured

Facts

On December 20, 1985, the company Nettoyage et Maintenance du Bâtiment S.A. (NMB) contracted a commercial general liability insurance policy with Zurich Assurances, Agence générale de Genève S.A. (Zurich) for the period from January 1, 1986 to December 31, 1990. On December 4, 1987, NMB reported a loss that had occurred two days earlier at the Eaux-Vives 2000 shopping center in Geneva, namely the "loss of a set of keys with 4 keys, including the master key". Zurich refused to intervene in this matter, citing the exclusion clauses of the insurance policy. NMB then filed a payment action against Zurich.

Considerations

The Federal Court dismissed NMB's appeal and upheld the judgment of the Cantonal Court. It considered that the exclusion of insurance coverage for damage to items entrusted to the insured (the "Obhutsklausel" clause) was clear and unambiguous. The set of keys, including the master key, had been entrusted to NMB for the performance of its maintenance and cleaning contract for the shopping center. Consequently, the costs of replacing the lost keys were not covered by the insurance. Furthermore, the other costs related to this incident, such as the costs of temporary surveillance, provisional measures, and lock changes, were also excluded from coverage, as they were economic losses not resulting from an insured material damage.

The Court rejected NMB's argument that the exclusion of the "Obhutsklausel" clause would render the insurance coverage meaningless. It considered…