Derogatory insurance regime organized around national pools and unlimited operator liability, governed by the Paris Convention and the Brussels Protocol.
Nuclear risk in insurance is treated within a legal and insurance framework entirely separate from the commercial market, owing to its potential for catastrophic damage and its geopolitical dimension. The international regime rests on several fundamental principles. Unlimited operator liability: in France and most signatory countries, the operator of a nuclear installation bears sole liability for damage caused by an accident, regardless of cause, and their liability is in principle unlimited since the 2004 Paris Protocol. Channeling of liability: only the operator may be sued, protecting suppliers and contractors. Public supplementary financing: beyond the capacity of the operator and insurance pools, the state and party states intervene as the lender of last resort. In France, ASSURATOME is the nuclear pool bringing together insurers and reinsurers wishing to participate in covering nuclear operators. The vast majority of standard insurance policies, whether property, liability or cyber, explicitly exclude nuclear risks in their exclusion clauses. The Paris Convention of 29 July 1960 (amended in 2004) and the Brussels Protocol govern civil nuclear liability in OECD countries.
A maintenance contractor works on the site of a French nuclear plant. A radioactive incident contaminates the surrounding area. Under the liability channeling principle and the Paris Convention, only the operator (EDF) bears legal liability to third parties. The contractor cannot be sued directly, and the operator's ASSURATOME cover is mobilized.
assurance nucléaire, ASSURATOME, Convention de Paris, pool nucléaire, protocole de Bruxelles