Canadian Accredited Insurance Broker (CAIB) One Practice Exam

What is the duty owed to an invitee?

1. Caution against unexpected dangers

2. Protect against discovered dangers

3. Provide premises that are completely safe

4. Only warn if asked about hazards

The correct answer is: Protect against discovered dangers

The duty owed to an invitee is to protect against discovered dangers. An invitee is someone who enters a property with the owner's permission for mutual benefit, typically for business purposes. Property owners have a heightened duty of care to invitees, which includes the obligation to identify and rectify hazards that they are aware of or that can be reasonably discovered. This means that if a property owner knows of a danger on their premises, they must take steps to protect the invitee from that danger. This protection can involve repairing the hazardous condition, warning invitees about the danger, or providing adequate safety measures. In contrast, while caution against unexpected dangers and the idea of warning only when asked may seem relevant, they do not capture the full extent of the responsibility owed to an invitee. The notion that premises must be entirely safe aligns more with the standards owed to a trespasser, which is far less rigorous. Thus, the emphasis here is on the owner’s duty to manage known risks proactively for the safety of invitees.