Introduced by Decree No. 12/2025 (the “Decree”), the TUN governs compensation for non-pecuniary damages resulting from injuries of a non-minor nature pursuant to Article 138 of the Insurance Code arising from the operation of motor vehicles and watercraft, as well as from the practice of the medical profession according to the Article 7, paragraph 4, of the Gelli Law.
As is well known, pursuant to Article 5 of the Decree, the legislature limits the application of the TUN – both in objective and temporal terms – to claims:
(i) falling within the scope of MTPL, Marine liability, and MedMal; and
(ii) arising after the Decree’s entry into force (5 March 2025).
Despite this regulatory limitation, the Italian Supreme Court held that the TUN may also be applied indirectly outside its formal scope, as a benchmark for equitable assessment pursuant to Article 1226 of the Civil Code.
According to the Court, this does not constitute analogia iuris, but rather the use of a technical criterion capable of ensuring uniformity and equal treatment among injured parties. From this perspective, the TUN qualifies as a preferred benchmark because:
- it has a regulatory basis, deriving from the Decree;
- it is based on a variable-point system with a modular structure, providing for a reduction in the value per point depending on the injured party’s age and a more-than-proportional increase in line with the percentage of permanent disability, similarly to the Milan and Rome Tables;
- it ensures consistent progressive compensation, with a growth curve aligned with a more-than-proportional criterion and, in any event, never regressive;
- is the most up-to-date reference framework.
In particular, the Court formulates the following principle of law:
“the Single National Table (T.U.N.), issued by Decree No. 12/2025, insofar as it is to be recognized as a parameter for the equitable assessment of non-pecuniary damage resulting from injury to health in accordance with the provisions of Articles 1226 and 2056 of the Civil Code, is generally applicable indirectly, that is, not by virtue of direct regulatory effect, but rather as a parameter of the court’s discretion under those provisions, with reference to awards formally outside its direct scope of application and, therefore, to incidents causing biological harm that occurred prior to 5 March 2025, and which do not arise from the operation of vehicles and watercraft or from medical liability.
In assessing the compensation for health damage to be determined in the specific case, the judge may, therefore, deviate from it—possibly even by applying a ‘judicial’ table—only on the basis of a rationale that specifically accounts for entirely unique circumstances, which are more relevant within the materially regulated scope of the TUN”
Although courts remain free to depart from the TUN in favor of the Milan or Rome Tables, any such deviation must be expressly justified by reference to the specific circumstances of the case that warrant its non-application.
Accordingly, courts are not only required to apply the TUN where the conditions set out in points (i) and (ii) above are cumulatively satisfied, but – pursuant to the principle established by the Supreme Court – are also expected to apply it beyond the Decree’s formal scope, unless “truly exceptional circumstances” justify otherwise.
For the assessment of non-pecuniary damages of a non-minor nature, the TUN thus becomes, in effect, the “general and preferred benchmark” compared to the Tables of Milan and Rome, which will find only residual application.
The operational implications are significant: the decision is bound to have an immediate impact on the courts’ activities and, above all, on insurers’ claims handling. In particular, it will be necessary to promptly adjust settlement criteria and reserves in light of this new case law, with potential repercussions also on actuarial evaluations.
The full text of the judgment is available (in Italian only) at the following link:
