Italy: 1.4 million motorists admit to lying to insurers

An investigation commissioned by Facile.it and conducted by the EMG research institute reveals that approximately 1.4 million Italian motorists have provided false information to their auto insurance companies.

The study identifies several primary motivations for this behavior. Roughly 770,000 drivers (53.5%) admitted to misrepresenting the dynamics of an accident to avoid a worsening merit class, which would increase their insurance premiums under the bonus-malus system. Additionally, about 586,000 respondents (43%) lied because the person driving the vehicle at the time of the incident was not covered by the policy.

A smaller group of approximately 33,000 drivers (2.3%) admitted to altering accident details to obtain reimbursements for damages that were not actually covered by their insurance policies. Experts warn that lying to an insurance company can constitute a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison and contributes to higher premiums for all motorists.