INSURANCE LAW

Business interruption: new interpretation of the concept of‘impossibility of access’ by the Cour de cassation (French SupremeCourt)

In two new rulings handed down by its Second Civil Division (28 May 2025, no. 23-20.093 and no. 24-11.006), the Cour de cassation has settled two disputes concerning the interpretation of business interruption cover. The high court gave a new interpretation of the condition of impossibility of access contained in this cover, in line with two decisions handed down a year earlier.

INSURANCE LAW

Directors’ and officers’ insurance: an AIG clause favourable to policyholders enforced by the Paris Judicial Court

In a final decision handed down on 16 January 2025, the Vice-President of the Paris Judicial Court confirmed the application, in favour of insured directors, of a frequent contractual clause relating to compensation for their defence costs. Thanks to this clause, the insured executive benefits from the compensation awarded under article 700 of the Code of Civil Procedure, even though the insurer financed the lawsuit.

INSURANCE LAW

Cyber insurance: silent guarantees still present, particularly in emerging markets

On 11 March 2024, the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority (ACPR) published a press release on implicit cover for cyber risk, in which it encourages insurers to continue their work of identifying and clarifying contracts. This is because (surprisingly?) there is little communication from insurers about the coverage provided by ‘old’ civil liability and property damage policies.

INSURANCE LAW

After the riots, the lack of insurance

New Caledonia continues to heal the wounds of an economy grounded between May and December 2024. With insurers threatening to pull out of the increasingly risky French overseas territories, hope could come from a reform of New Caledonian insurance law, which has so far closed off the market more than it has taken account of local particularities.
(Translation of the article from La Tribune de l'Assurance magazine)

INSURANCE LAW

MGA : the all-risk agency

Rapidly expanding in France, Managing General Agents bring added value to the market in general and to insurers in particular, notably in risk management, underwriting and the development of customized solutions. Their expertise enables them to address niche markets that escape the reach of traditional insurers.
(Translation of the article from La Tribune de l'Assurance magazine)

INSURANCE LAW

Los Angeles wildfires: what if it had happened on the Côte d’Azur?

50 billion dollars worth of damage, 12,000 buildings burned, 180,000 people evacuated, the Getty Museum’s collection threatened,… and as if that weren't enough, could the bears, that had taken up residence in a Californian house abandoned by the victims, had exacerbated the damage ? If California were the Côte d'Azur and the Californian administration were the French administration, what would be the consequences in French insurance law for a similar catastrophe ?

INSURANCE LAW

Fires caused by lithium batteries: how to insure efficiently ?

Les incendies et sinistres liés aux batteries fonctionnant au lithium sont si nombreux qu’ils ne peuvent être ignorés ni par les assureurs ni par les assurés.

INSURANCE LAW

Reinsurance captives of French companies: technical and legal practical work

Last November, the Prudential Control and Resolution Authority published its guide to reinsurance captives. This new risk and insurance management tool for companies, on which our firm has been working with the authorities since 2021, is developing rapidly for the benefit of French companies.

INSURANCE LAW

New Caledonia / Insurance for the riots of 2024

Eight months after the riots that ravaged this antipodean French territory, insured companies are facing up to their insurers.