The Contractor and the Insured Party in the Cargo Insurance Contract in Maritime Transport: Commercial Practice and Comparative Analysis

This chapter deals with an analysis of the insurance contract of transported goods, focusing on the factispecies of insurance for the benefit of third parties and of those it may concern (called “assicurazione per conto altrui e assicurazione per conto di chi spetta” in the Italian legal system). Firstly, the paper examines the main legal sources of the aforementioned types of contract as well as the importance of the operative practice, especially the British one, which is of primary importance for the discipline of the whole subject. In addition, attention is paid to the main features of the insurance contract for the benefit of third parties and of those it may concern, mainly highlighting issues pertaining to the juridical interpretation of this category of insurance contracts. An indepth analysis is conducted on the figures of the contractor and the insured party, especially taking into consideration the effects of the indemnity principle in line with the active legal capacity in order to claim the insurance compensation, by studying of the most important jurisprudential cases as well.