Italy considers reform of auto insurance bonus-malus system

Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, has announced a planned reform of the mandatory civil liability (RCA) auto insurance system. The initiative aims to better reward virtuous drivers and create a more balanced method for determining insurance premiums.

Currently, the system operates on a bonus-malus mechanism where drivers improve their merit class each year without accidents, while those primarily responsible for an accident typically drop two classes. However, many motorists report that premiums can increase even without recent claims due to complex factors, including internal company coefficients and regional variables.

Under the existing framework, new drivers generally start in the 14th universal merit class. While the universal class provides a common standard for information exchange between companies, individual insurers apply their own internal tariff coefficients, which can lead to significant price discrepancies between different providers even for drivers with identical accident histories.