Despite legislative reforms and the current definition of marine insurance by the legislator, the qualification of the contract remains a delicate issue, with case law having just widened the scope of application. The judge’s intervention must be circumscribed with regard to the legal regime governing insurance for pleasure craft.
II- The scope of the jurisprudential definition of maritime risk
One question that systematically arises on reading the Cour de cassation’s ruling is whether war risks and those assimilated to them, including nuclear and cyber risks, can be classified as maritime risks, insofar as they are also intended to occur during maritime navigation. In any case, the nature of war risks seems to be clarified by this very broadly worded definition.
definition. The extension of the definition of maritime risk to cyber-risks seems less obvious, given their specific nature.
A- Clarifying the nature of war risks and assimilated risks
War risks and all those assimilated to them, including nuclear risks, are excluded by the legislator from the coverage of marine insurers against ordinary risks. This exclusion derives from article L.172-16 of the French Insurance Code, which states that damage and loss resulting from the realization of war risks, to which are assimilated the risks of piracy, capture, seizure or detention, riots, popular movements, strikes and lock-outs, acts of sabotage or terrorism, as well as those caused by losses
are not borne by the insurer, unless otherwise agreed with the customer.
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Jérôme de Sentenac, « Quelle délimitation entre assurance terrestre et maritime (partie 2) » in the Tribune de l’Assurance, March 26, 2024.
