Abstract

In the second half of the 18th century, the emergence of large insurance companies significantly altered the European market for maritime risks, changing the traditional balance of power between insurers and policyholders. This change had repercussions on the regulatory framework and contractual practices, whose reform began to be perceived as a need that could no longer be postponed. In order to be able to make use of the new calculation- based forecasting tools, it was first necessary to develop and adopt certain legal devices that would reduce information asymmetries and moral hazard, both at the contractual level and at the time of claim settlement. Starting from the close analysis of an emblematic case against a Neapolitan shipowner accused of fraud, the essay clarifies how the evolution of admissible evidence and judicial procedure was shaped by the profound structural transformations of the period