Driving without insurance. For 2.6 million vehicles that travel on our roads every day – 6% of the total – it doesn't seem to be a problem. The worrying IVASS data – referring to December 2022 – needs to be completed with the figures provided by ANIA. According to calculations, evasion leads to an annual loss of approximately 1 billion euros, which companies recover by increasing insurance premiums.
It's not just evasion, however. Insurance fraud and the cost of accidents (for every at-fault accident, the premium increases by 27%) also weigh on the total burden for motorists. "Despite the decline in recent years, the average premium is higher in Italy than in other major European countries," notes Luigi Signorini, president of IVASS. This is to the detriment of the vast majority of motorists, who are in class A and have not had accidents for years.
What are the consequences of driving without insurance? We will briefly mention the heavy fine, the loss of license points, and the impoundment of the vehicle, which are the penalties for driving without insurance. And we quickly remind you that an uninsured vehicle cannot even be parked on a public road, under penalty – once again – of a fine and impoundment.
Rather, we want to consider the possibility of an accident. What happens if you are involved in an accident with a vehicle without RCA coverage? The victim, in case of damage to property or people, retains the right to compensation. The party causing the accident is obliged to compensate the injured parties out of their own pocket. In these cases, an indirect mechanism is used, with the intervention of the Guarantee Fund for Road Accident Victims, provided for by the Private Insurance Code and established at CONSAP, the Concessionaire of Public Insurance Services of the Ministry of Economy. The fund is financed by mandatory contributions included in the premium that all insured parties pay when signing the policy.
The Fund intervenes when it is impossible to identify an insurer liable for compensation. The request must be submitted to CONSAP following the compensation procedure indicated on the website, with documentation proving the fact and the responsibility of the vehicles involved. It is advisable to involve the Police, whose report will be invaluable. CONSAP provides for the settlement of the compensation and subsequently identifies the party responsible for the accident, from whom it requests reimbursement of the amount paid. If necessary, it will proceed with the compulsory recovery of the sum.
