Alcune questioni in tema di smart contracts assicurativi: tra istanze di innovazione tecnologica e principi inderogabili dell’ordinamento giuridico

The essay points out some of the legal issues involved in the use of smart contracts in the insurance sector, especially with regard to the possible automation of pre-contractual risk assessment and indemnity settlement. Indeed, technological development makes it possible to self-enforce the insurance policy: in other words, compensation can be automatically estimated through index-based methods. Therefore, the need arises to investigate the compatibility of such techniques with the mandatory principles of insurance law, such as the indemnity principle. Furthermore, other issues can be identified in relation to the change of the distribution of information among the parties of the contract, due to the use of artificial intelligence for the purpose of risk assessment prior to contract formation.