What is the test for determining whether an insurance agent has a special duty of care to advise a plaintiff about the coverage limits of his policy?

The facts here are different from Free v. Republic Ins. Co. (1992) 8 Cal.App.4th 1726, 1729-1731 (Free), in which the court found that the plaintiff sufficiently alleged that the insurance agents assumed a special duty of care to defeat a demurrer. There, the plaintiff homeowner contacted the defendant insurance agencies every year to ask whether the coverage limits of his policy were adequate to rebuild his home. Each time he was informed that they were. The court thus held that, although the defendants were "not required under the general duty of care they owed plaintiff to advise him regarding the sufficiency of his liability limits or the replacement value of his residence," "once they elected to

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respond to his inquiries, a special duty arose requiring them to use reasonable care." (Id. at p. 1729.)