Accident claims in Italy: response times and legal deadlines
“We have opened your file” is reassuring. It does not tell you when an offer is due, whether the request is complete, or how long you have to preserve your claim. Put those questions on separate lines in your diary.
Avv. Luca Valente · 14 October 2026
English · Deutsch
The insurer’s timetable is only one part of the picture
You report the accident, receive a reference and start collecting records. Weeks later, the insurer asks for another document. Which date matters? It depends on the question you are asking.
When is a response due?
Identify the procedure, the type of damage and when the insurer received the required information.
Check the response timetable →When must action be taken?
Check the applicable limitation period and any legally effective steps already taken.
Check prescription →This guide concerns accidents in Italy. The applicable law and claims route still need checking in a cross-border case. First establish who should receive the claim; sending a request to a familiar insurance brand is not enough.
What do the 30, 60 and 90 days refer to?
For the Italian motor claims procedure described by IVASS, the standard periods below concern the insurer’s offer or reasoned response to a properly completed request. They are not a promise that every claim will be paid within that number of days.
- 30 days
- Property damage where the accident statement (CAI) is jointly signed by both drivers.
- 60 days
- Property damage where the reduced period does not apply.
- 90 days
- Personal injury, with the information and documentation required for that claim.
The relevant starting point is receipt of the complete request, not automatically the accident date. The IVASS accident guide explains the periods and the importance of completeness. A CAI on its own is not a complete compensation request, as the IVASS motor insurance FAQ confirms.
A valid request for missing information can restart the response period
Under Article 148 of the Insurance Code, the insurer must request the necessary additions within 30 days of receiving an incomplete request; in that situation, the response periods run afresh from receipt of the additional information or documents.
For an injury claim, the statutory documentation includes medical certification of recovery, with or without permanent effects. This is one reason not to calculate an offer date merely by adding 90 days to your first message from the emergency department. Special provisions may also affect the handling timetable.
Example: “I sent the form six weeks ago. Why no offer?”
Suppose the first email contained a CAI and two photographs. The insurer then requested missing information. Before concluding that a response is overdue, compare the first submission, the request for additions and the later delivery receipt. A claim reference alone does not answer whether the statutory request was complete.
This example illustrates the documents to check. It does not establish that every request for further material is justified or that an insurer may restart time simply by asking another question.
Use the evidence and documents checklist to track what is missing. For ongoing care abroad, see the guide to continuing your claim after returning home. If treatment continues, explain that promptly; do not invent a recovery date or postpone all action until the medical file is finished.
The two-year rule needs its own diary entry
Where Italian law applies, Article 2947 of the Civil Code provides a general two-year limitation period for damage caused by vehicle circulation. The same article contains an exception where the event constitutes a criminal offence with a longer limitation period, and rules concerning the end of criminal proceedings. The starting date and applicable exception must be assessed for the facts. See Civil Code, Article 2947.
Do not treat the general period as permission to wait two years before doing anything. Missing evidence, contractual reporting obligations and the steps required to preserve the right need attention much earlier.
Can a written demand interrupt prescription?
Article 2943 recognises interruption by specified judicial acts and by an act that validly places the debtor in default. A written demand may therefore be important, but its content, recipient and delivery need checking. Not every email asking “any news?” has that effect. See Civil Code, Article 2943.
Retain the actual demand and proof of delivery. Have its effect assessed before relying on a new deadline; do not reconstruct the history from memory.
Make a one-page chronology
- What happenedThe accident
Date, place, vehicles and any police or criminal-proceedings reference.
- What was sentThe request
Recipient, contents, attachments and date of proven receipt.
- What followedThe response
Requests for additions, your replies, offers and formal notices.
For each event, link the entry to its document. Write “not yet checked” beside an uncertain date rather than filling it with a guess. This makes it possible to examine both the handling delay and the legal deadline without confusing them.
If the insurer has gone quiet
Ask for the file reference, the handler’s identity and a precise account of what is still outstanding. Compare the answer with the documents already delivered. A status enquiry can help resolve an administrative gap; it is not a substitute for a formal step needed to preserve the claim.
If a deadline may be close, obtain advice promptly instead of waiting for the next routine update. Use the contact form to give the accident date, country of residence, date of your last formal request and any deadline already mentioned. Do not upload medical records in the initial enquiry.
If an offer has arrived, read how to check the breakdown and proposed release. To understand the underlying losses, read injury compensation and lost earnings.
General information, not a calculation of an individual deadline. Sending an enquiry does not create a professional engagement or mean that a deadline has been accepted.