Business Insurance & Reinsurance in Italy

S&P Italian Law Firm offers legal advice and assistance concerning insuring a business in Italy, understanding of the legalities surrounding Italian insurance as well as claims for compensation for damages in all cases of civil liabilities.

The Italian law Firm Sampaoli & Pellacchia assists insurance companies, brokers and agencies about insurance litigation concerning both out-of-Court proceeding and judicial proceeding taking place in Italy.

The firm has a solid experience about compensation claims and therefore pays particular attention to the pre-contractual, contractual and out-of-Court phases of negotiations.

The Italian insurance industry offers several solutions in order to protect businesses from a potentially hazardous activity. The primary contract for this purpose is liability insurance (assicurazione per la responsabilità civile) which is essential – and sometimes compulsory by law – for operating companies.

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The Italian insurance market has modeled various types of civil liability policies in relation to the insured risk. Each policy has its own peculiarity and may have a special legislative regulation.

A legal entity, for instance, is responsible for damages suffered by employees in the workplace; furthermore, it is liable to its customers for issues caused by its products.

According to the Italian Civil Code, in case of liability the compensation is composed by actual and future loss, and the loss of profit.

The main types of company policies in Italy concerning civil liability are the following:

• Liability Insurance Products (R.C. prodotti): aimed to guarantee the insured for damage caused by the product after the sale;
• Liability Insurance towards workers (responsabilità civile verso prestatore d’opera or R.C.O.): aimed to protect the employer for the damage suffered by employees in the workplace. In the event of accidents or occupational diseases, workers are guaranteed by compulsory public insurance managed by a bureau called I.N.A.I.L.*; the latter, however, in the event of violations of the accident prevention legislation, after having compensated the employee, is obliged to claim compensation against the employer. Therefore, it is essential for the company to ensure itself through the stipulation of R.C.O. policies;
• Posthumous ten-year policy (decennale postuma): aimed for the real estate market in order to guarantee the builder in case of damage that may occur in the ten years after the conclusion of the work;
• Generale Insurance Liability (R.C.G.): in case of damages not included in those aforementioned.

*I.N.A.I.L. National Institute for Insurance against Accident at Work