§ 12. What risk for the goods means
"Risk" (risiko) in the Sale of Goods Act (Kjøpsloven) means: who has to pay if the goods are lost, destroyed or reduced in value between purchase and delivery (levering). Once the risk has passed to you, you must pay the purchase price (kjøpesum) even if the goods are lost along the way — as long as this is not due to the seller (selger).
Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська
The text of the law (unofficial translation)
When the risk for the goods has passed to the buyer (kjøper), his obligation to pay the purchase price does not lapse because the goods are subsequently lost, damaged or reduced as a result of an event that is not due to the seller.
What does this mean?
"Transfer of risk" (risikoens overgang) is perhaps the most important legal term in the Sale of Goods Act. It decides who loses the money if something goes wrong.
Risk is about unforeseen events:
- The goods burn
- The goods are stolen
- The goods are damaged by a water leak
- The goods disappear in the post
If this happens while the seller has the risk, the seller must either get you new goods or pay you back. You do not have to pay.
If it happens after you have taken over the risk, you must pay the purchase price anyway — even if you never receive the goods. This is how insurance is set up: you insure yourself against your own risk, not other people's.
Important exception: The seller is still responsible if it is his fault that something happened. If the seller packed the goods poorly or handled them carelessly, he cannot hide behind the rules on risk.
Examples
Lars buys a collectible BMW motorcycle from Tom for NOK 180,000. He has paid and taken over the key and the papers. The motorcycle is at Tom's home while Lars waits for a trailer. The next night, Tom's garage burns down. The question is: who has the risk? If delivery has taken place (Lars has taken over the motorcycle, see § 6), Lars has the risk. He has lost NOK 180,000 and must hope he has home contents insurance (innboforsikring). If delivery has not taken place, Tom has the risk — he must give the money back to Lars. This shows how important it is to agree clearly on when the risk passes.
Ingrid orders an expensive camera lens from Germany for NOK 25,000. It is a shipment purchase (sendekjøp) without a "delivered free" (fritt levert) clause. The lens is handed over to DHL — the risk then passes to Ingrid (§ 7 second paragraph). On the way, the package is stolen. Ingrid must pay for the lens, but can claim against DHL or any insurance. The seller is out of the picture, because they delivered as agreed.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the seller always has the risk until the goods are at your home — wrong, especially in a shipment purchase
- Thinking you do not have to pay if the goods never arrived — it depends on who had the risk
- Forgetting to check insurance before the risk passes
What should you do?
If you have the risk and the goods are lost: you pay anyway. The only way out is insurance or making a claim against whoever is actually to blame for the loss (typically the transport company).
- Agree clearly on when the risk passes — especially for expensive purchases
- Get transport insurance (transportforsikring) if you have the risk during transport
- Check your home contents insurance for valuable purchases that are not physically with you
- Document when the goods are handed over, with photos or a signature
- § 7Local delivery purchase and shipment purchase
- § 13When the risk passes
- § 14Identification of the goods
- § 15Risk in goods sold in transit