ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Giovanna Aucone and Debora Gobbo, FIVERS Studio Legale e Tributario
mental principles and applicable international rules. This procedure (Articles 839 and 840 of the Code of Civil Procedure) is based on the 1958 New York Con- vention. The ruling granting or denying the validity of the foreign award may be appealed before the court of appeal within 30 days of notification. The recognition or enforcement of the foreign award shall be refused by the court of appeal if, in the opposition proceed- ings, the party against whom the award is invoked proves the existence of one of the circumstances pur- suant to Article 840 of the Code of Civil Procedure. 9.7 Alternative Dispute Resolution Before taking legal action in insurance matters, the parties must attempt to settle the matter by using one of the following alternative dispute resolution meth- ods: (i) mediation proceeding, (ii) assisted negotiation, or (iii) proceeding before the Insurance Arbitrator. The substantial difference between the assisted nego- tiation pursuant to Law Decree No 132/2014 and the mediation proceeding pursuant to Legislative Decree No 28/2010 is given by the presence of an external mediator, who is not involved in the matter in dispute and has no relationship with the parties in the media- tion proceeding. Such mediator shall facilitate the dialogue and the settlement of the claim between the parties. In the assisted negotiation, the parties are assisted directly by their lawyers, who, within a certain period of time, try to find an agreement to resolve the dispute amicably. Disputes concerning the assessment of rights, includ- ing compensation, obligations and powers relating to insurance benefits and services, or non-compliance with the rules of conduct relating to the exercise of insurance distribution activities, within the following thresholds, may be referred to the Insurance Arbitrator established with IVASS: • the value of the dispute amounts to a maximum of EUR300,000 for life insurance contracts of Branch I that provide for a benefit in the event of death; • up to EUR150,000 for all other life insurance con- tracts, including those in Branch I, other than those indicated above;
• up to EUR2,500 for civil liability insurance con- tracts if the action is brought by the injured third party as direct action; or • up to EUR2.5 million in all other non-life insurance contracts. 9.8 Penalties for Late Payment of Claims Italian law does not provide for “punitive damages” in the strict sense, because the Italian legal system is based on the principle of indemnity: compensation is paid for the damage suffered, not to penalise the person responsible for the damage. Any unjustified delay in the performance of the insur- ance service gives rise to an obligation of the insurer to pay default interests (and/or legal interest, depend- ing on the circumstances). When the insurer delays the payment of compensa- tion under a non-life insurance contract without justi- fied reason or justifies the non-payment on the basis of clearly dilatory and unfounded circumstances, the insurer has to compensate and/or indemnify the insured (even beyond the maximum limits expressly agreed in the policy). 9.9 Insurers’ Rights of Subrogation Pursuant to Article 1916 of the Civil Code, the insurer who has paid the indemnity is subrogated, up to the amount paid, to the rights of the insured against the liable third party. In Italian law, subrogation constitutes a specific suc- cession in the right claimed by the insured party against the third party responsible for the harmful event, with full and comprehensive substitution of the insured party who has suffered damage. The right of subrogation has its limits and is not permitted if the damage is caused by the insured’s children, ascendants, other relatives or relatives by marriage living permanently with the insured, or by domestics of the insured.
264 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook