The right to compensation for road accident damage in Italy is entitled to all insured drivers unless they are responsible for the incident. In such cases, they should be in possession of extensive insurance coverage (in addition to the RCA, Motor vehicle liability insurance).
The most popular of these is Kasko Car Insurance, which covers damages incurred to the vehicle, regardless of fault. If it is determined that the driver is 50% at fault (in other words, the responsibility of the accident is on both drivers) each party will reimburse the other for 50% of the cost of damages.
It is necessary to state that, in the fight against swindlers from phony road incidents, reform of the law was implemented in 2017 (law n.124 / 2017). The role and responsibility of witnesses (who in the past were coerced into providing false statements) was one of the first reforms to the legislation.
In regards to technological advancements to help aid in the effort to both defraud those who take advantage of the system and to award the correct party reimbursement, the introduction of the black box (a mobile electronic device with GPS that tracks and records driving conduct), has empowered insurance providers to settle claims with more confidence. As is evident in this example, this technology and how it is utilized by authorities is a sign of the times.
How to make a claim for road accident damages in Italy
In the event of a road accident in Italy, there are two possible ways to request compensation for damages:
Direct compensation procedure Ordinary claim procedure The key difference between the two procedures is that the compensation for road damage through the ordinary claim procedure is without restrictions, while direct compensation demands certain conditions.
Direct compensation procedure
Direct compensation permits pre-paid compensation by having the insurance settled directly (which will then be repaid by the responsible party at a later date).
Introduced by the Legislative Decree of 7 September 2005, n. 209, which provides an alternative to common requests for compensation through the ordinary claim procedure, direct compensation provides claimants with a quick solution to a normally lengthy process. However, in order to be applicable for direct compensation, certain conditions must be met:
There must only be two vehicles involved in the incident. The party responsible must be insured and their vehicle must be registered in Italy. The two vehicles...