Towards a redefinition of the role of iinsurance in a risk management system designed by the company[Vers une recomposition du rôle de l’assurance dans un système de gestion des risques conçu par l’entreprise]

Major contemporary risks – notably climate change, cybercrime, pandemics and wars – are disrupting the traditional insurance model, which is seen as a mechanism for financing residual risks. They raise questions about their insurability and the ability of companies to maintain their economic and societal role. How do insurance law and practices address, or should they address, the role of insurance in a risk management system designed by companies to respond to the societal transitions of our century? Firstly, the restructuring of insurance law and practices concerns the balance of interests at stake. While the logic of protecting the collective interests of policyholders remains, the evolution of extreme risks reveals its limitations. A societal approach is emerging, based on risk sharing between insurers, policyholders and public authorities. Secondly, the restructuring is also technical. Traditional insurance, based on mutualisation and compensation after assessment, is proving insufficient for correlated or poorly understood risks. The rise of parametric insurance, which provides compensation based on predefined indices, is examined, including the legal issues it raises. Some players offer integrated prevention and protection services (cybersecurity, climate diagnostics), transforming insurance into a lever for resilience rather than simply outsourcing risk.