Future Trends in Italian Insurance Regulations: What to Expect
It is not about skills. It is about rhythms, about desperate totemism of the value of work that is a means and not an end, of a generalised habit of certain circles to let those who enter the legal market delude that one day they will certainly have play a major role. Very rarely is this true, and what was untold twenty years ago, and is still untold today according to Ivan Dimitri Calaprice, is that this path, when not carried out autonomously, can lead to a state of toxic frustration and stress.
All because of the frequency of organisational dynamics,’ continues Mr Calaprice, ‘which are the result of the entrepreneurial short-sightedness of those who - perhaps even with excellent legal skills - do not know how to relate with collaborators or, worse, have a genuine indifference to the well-being or even the simple daily mood of them.
Today we focus on this well-known boutique of excellence in Italian insurance law and regulation. And we do so with its Founder, Ivan Dimitri Calaprice.
IDC Law Firm is a very consolidated reality on the Italian insurance scene. It is a relatively young structure (it has been in operation for over 13 years) but has managed to catalyse the attention of Italian and international companies and intermediaries, developing a dense network of relationships with high-profile Italian, European and international market operators, as well as a recognised ability to liaise with industry regulators.
IDC is the acronym of Ivan Dimitri Calaprice (as well as of the syntagma shown on the logo, Insurance Digital Compliance) and was born from the desire to move away from certain asphyxiated logics of some Italian law firms.
Online platforms and digital brokers - How does insurance work in Italy?
How has the rise of distance distribution channels, such as online platforms and digital brokers, transformed the insurance industry in Italy and the broader EU?
Well, I have to say that compared to the initial expectations ten or fifteen years ago, I mean, the perspectives and the tangible reality are very different.
With the advent of digital scenarios, there was a legitimate outcry in Italy from the various stakeholders about the risks of disintermediation, job losses, and critical and irreversible reductions in the quality of insurance services offered.
This was not the case.
The facts have shown that, to this day, there is always a man or a team of men behind the machines. Some have coined the term “phygital” as a cross between physical and digital.
I do not like this term because it seems to evoke a hybrid scenario that does NOT exist: physical and digital realities are constantly evolving and it is not easy to predict them.
Let me give you an example: when I was a child, we imagined the future as an imaginary reality to be perceived with a glove and a visor, then there was the advent of Second Life, then the Metaverse, social media and related human interactions, and now it’s the era of the voice assistants. To date we are talking - with a boring storytelling - about AI.
To come to the point of both questions, there are some positive changes in the insurance world that are here to stay.
The digital user has the possibility to compare, to read carefully all the pre-contractual and contractual documents, not to be put under psychological pressure to sign by a person.
And this is a good thing.
And then there are some worrying changes. Many people do not know whether a telematics portal belongs to a real company or to a real insurance broker, and they fall victim to fraud.
And that will be one of the challenges in the future. Counteracting it.
I have to say that the Italian Regulators are working hard on this problem with some excellent results.
Legal challenges
What are the main legal challenges that Italian and EU insurance companies face when distributing their products remotely, and how do you help them navigate these complexities?
This is a million-dollar question that I could not answer without descending into rhetoric and platitudes.
The Gordian knot of first- and second-level regulation in Italy is an excess of rules. That derives from EU.
I often speak of “Regulatory asphyxia”.
When the Insurance Code (adopted in Italy in 2009) was being drafted, the declared intention was to bring together in a single clarifying text the scattered rules that had hitherto been left to few laws and to the sense of the national regulator (then called Isvap and now Ivass) to define and regulate.
The aim was laudable.
However, to date, we have 44 regulations issued under the regime of the so-called Isvap (the old name of our regulator), most of which are still in force, and 55 regulations issued under the regime of the Ivass (new name).
Many, many more are to come.
Then there are the letters to the market, the notes, the guidelines, and the European indications. Too much. Really.
On the side, as I said, are the Insurance Code, the Consumer Code, privacy and data protection regulations, and the AML regulation.
In short, the categorical imperative is to rely on experts and not on improvisers. On professionals who have always dealt with digital and only digital.
Because digital insurance cannot be just one of many practices a law firm has to deal with, but must be the only one if the aim is to provide excellent service to the client.
Because the risk of making mistakes is very high. Although the understanding of the local regulator has grown a lot over the years.
And the word simplification is one of the most frequently used at all levels. But Nobody can do miracles. EU has exaggerated, not helped.
How do I help my clients? With my experience (which, it is important to note, is not, generally, always synonymous with competence), with my seriousness, with my honesty. And with the undeniable ability to know who to talk with when there is an institutional problem.
I have done this with excellent results, even for real giants in the world of insurance. I like to work in the shadows. I do not rely on brands, but on my brain and in that of my collaborators.
Regulatory requirements - Who regulates insurance in Italy?
Can you explain the regulatory requirements for distance selling of insurance products in Italy and the EU, and how these regulations impact both insurers and consumers?
I cannot. Because there are so many rules and they cannot be simplified on an occasion like this.
Let’s say that if I were to give advice to a young trainee who has just joined a law firm that deals with insurance law, I would first ask myself whether this firm will him induce me to study mainly or only digital insurance law.
Then I would advise him to read carefully Title IX of the Private Insurance Code, then Ivass Regulation 40/2018, then Ivass Regulation 41/2018.
Then I would invite him to familiarise with the Ivass and Eiopa websites.
Then to develop good relationships with experts in antitrust and privacy and data protection, trying to get the best on the market. This point is essential.
And then to subscribe to the best insurance magazines and to read, read, read!
And, finally, I would invite him to pray that everything goes well... (just kidding!!!)
About the consumers: the issue is more complex. It’s a matter of the so called “insurance education”.
EU Compliance
How do you advise insurance companies to ensure compliance with consumer protection laws when engaging in cross-border distance distribution within the EU?
I really appreciate this question. There is a great deal of confusion on this point.
I am not going to tell you what I say and what I do, because each situation is by definition different from the other.
But I will tell you that there is not much awareness of the fact that even though the EU legislation is common to all, the national implementations and applications are still very different.
To give you a short answer, I would advise you first of all to look at the legislation implemented in the country of destination, because that is what you have to work with.
EU legislation is on the moon compared to day-to-day operations. Even if, in a trivial way, it is the same for everyone.
An example: the distinction between the different categories of intermediaries and the possibility of using auxiliaries when under FOS. A surreal and tragicomic joke. That impacts consumer protection laws, too. And it’s a mess.
Disputes - Distance distribution
What are the most common disputes that arise in the context of distance distribution of insurance products, and how do you assist clients in resolving these issues?
There is no precise case history. I have to say that, from my point of view, there are more operational criticalities than controversies.
For example:
- there is often a false and dangerous perception that any Eastern EU company is - by definition - a fraudulent company; it’s not the truth.
- there is no established culture of the obligation to tell the truth when taking a risk, which is primarily a moral but also a legal obligation (articles 1892 and 1893 of the Civil Code);
- there is often a lack of awareness of what the insurance company has to offer. It is perceived as a resource that has the obligation to pay as much as one wants; it does not work that way, of course;
- there is no awareness of the content of Ivass Regulation 24/2008 on the subject of complaints; complaints are filed by people and companies about everything, even about what Ivass itself says is not complainable; it’s not acceptable.
IDD and distance selling
How has the implementation of the EU’s Insurance Distribution Directive (IDD) affected the practices of Italian insurers, particularly in the realm of distance selling?
Distance selling is an extremely diverse and complex world.
The IDD has provided some insight, but everyday life is made up of complexities that are still unresolved.
To be practical: it has helped to clarify certain rules in the national Ivass Regulation 40/2018.
For example, insurance price comparison platforms have evolved a lot in Italy thanks to IDD, but today it needs new rules because those who do insurance comparisons today mainly do many other things.
And that’s just the first example that comes to my mind.
Data protection
What role does data protection, particularly in light of GDPR, play in the distance distribution of insurance products, and how do you help clients manage these obligations?
It is just crazy to have different departments interacting when you have to structure an insurance platform and ensure compliance, even with the issues you mention.
It is inconceivable that someone who deals with insurance law does not have the basics of the subjects you mention and, at the same time, that someone who has to deal with GDPR (and others) does not have any idea of insurance law.
This is why, as of this year, one of the greatest experts in legal IT in Italy, who already works for real giants of the Italian economy and for primary Italian insurance companies and primary claims handlers, Mr Alessandro Rodolfi, will be formally working in my/law firm.
Alessandro and I are proud to have structured the first Italian law firm dedicated exclusively to insurance law and regulation from a different perspective than the more traditional ones.
We want to stabilise the ongoing dialogue on cybersecurity, privacy, data protection, digital forensics and the first regulations early regulation of artificial intelligence and make it available to those working in the insurance industry. We want to make these discussions accessible, concrete, and above all, useful to insurance professionals, providing them with the tools they need to address emerging challenges and ensure the secure and compliant management of the data that underpins their entire business. In a rapidly evolving technology environment, it is vital that the insurance industry is prepared and informed about the latest regulations and best practices to protect information, maintain customer trust and avoid costly fines.
All of this - I repeat - from only one perspective: the insurance perspective.
We realised that this perspective, although trivial, was completely absent from the current legal market.
It is simply that, apart from a few associative occasions linked to a phenomenon such as insurtech, they are always spoken of as separate monads.
On the one hand, insurance and its pachydermic regulation, and on the other hand, everything else, from which we are often bombarded by improvisers of super-complex topics. And that cannot be the case.
Digital issues are in the world of insurance - at most - a corollary to the claim to be ‘also about’.
Alessandro and I want to combine our yearly skills so that we can proudly say that in this world we are the first to deal ‘only with’.
One thing we agree on is that you must be very sceptical and wary of those who claim to be ‘experts’ and those who claim to be able to do everything in this world.
The world of insurance is made up of a plethora of regulations that are becoming increasingly complex.
Those who claim to be able to do it all and do it well create a lot of confusion. Especially if they are to generations ahead of mine. The insurance of 20, 30 years ago is no longer what it is today.
No lies about this. It is the pure truth.
Insurance trends for 2025 and beyond
Looking ahead, what trends do you foresee in the distance distribution of insurance products within Italy and the EU, and how should companies prepare for these developments?
Trivially, the first task our clients ask us is how to comply with the DORA Regulation (which will come into force soon).
Having said that, rather than trends, I would like to talk about desiderata:
- extreme simplification of distance distribution regulations;
- structuring of an ad hoc regulation for instant insurance;
- structuring of ad hoc legislation for so called micro-insurance;
It goes without saying, then, that AI will revolutionise everything.
It is already doing so. Alessandro and I have been preparing for it for months. With enormous efforts.
And we have the ‘almost arrogance’ to claim that we will be able to make a difference for small and large insurance companies and for small and large insurance intermediaries. Especially the EU ones.
Simply because we are both prepared on subjects that are usually treated as issues to be supplemented.
While, today, the mantra should be to create insurance products and services that are already integrated with the digital world, with the AI world and with insurance regulation and legislation.
Let me make a provocative observation. How many law firms can say to have done this so far?
My answer: apart from myself and Alessandro, none. That’s why we are really different. No rhetoric.
Contact
Ivan Dimitri Calaprice
Email: icalaprice@idclex.com
