An insurance policy clause that refers the assessment of damage and its consequences to a panel of physicians, who are called upon to render a binding technical determination, constitutes a contractual expert appraisal and not an arbitration, whether formal or contractual, with the result that the judicial appointment procedure under art. 810 of the code of civil procedure does not apply, either directly or by analogy.
A contractual expert appraisal has the nature of a joint collective mandate and requires the agreement of both parties for its activation, so that the lack of consent of one party cannot be remedied by judicial appointment under art. 810 of the code of civil procedure, the insured’s right to bring ordinary proceedings for payment of the indemnity being preserved.