Who should receive your accident claim in Italy?

Read the number plate before the insurance logo

Find the registration number and country of each vehicle, the accident date, and the insurer covering the vehicle on that date. Then identify your position: driver, passenger, pedestrian or cyclist. These details matter more than the language of an insurance certificate or the international brand on its cover.

Keep a separate record of any rental company, broker, roadside assistance provider and claims handling company. They may help with the paperwork, but their involvement does not automatically make them the correct recipient of a formal compensation claim. Ask which insurer they represent and in what capacity they are handling your file.

If you were on foot or riding a bicycle, see the claim route for pedestrians and cyclists, including incidents without a motor vehicle.

Italian-registered vehicles: whose insurer?

Under the ordinary procedure, the claim goes to the insurer of the vehicle responsible. Direct compensation through your own motor insurer is available only within its particular scope. Typical conditions include a collision between two vehicles registered and insured in Italy; the driver’s injury claim under that procedure is limited to injuries within the statutory minor-injury threshold. More complex circumstances need separate assessment. IVASS explains the ordinary and direct procedures.

An injured passenger may have a claim against the insurer of the vehicle they were travelling in, subject to the applicable conditions and limits. See the passenger injury claim guide. Pedestrians should not assume that the driver’s direct-compensation procedure applies to them. Identify the capacity in which you are claiming before choosing the recipient.

Foreign plates: when UCI is relevant

UCI, the Italian national motor insurance bureau, handles claims within its remit arising from accidents caused in Italy by foreign-registered vehicles. It can appoint a correspondent to investigate and handle the claim. The foreign registration and applicable insurance arrangements must be checked; do not treat UCI as a universal address for every international case.

UCI expressly distinguishes this from an accident caused by an Italian-registered vehicle, even if the insurer appears foreign. Being a foreign visitor does not itself bring the claim within UCI’s remit. Its current instructions explain both its scope and the documents required.

Can somebody handle the claim in your home country?

For qualifying cross-border accidents, the European motor insurance framework provides for claims representatives in the injured person’s country of residence. This can offer a route for handling the claim after returning home, alongside the ability to approach the responsible insurer. The accident, insurance and residence conditions must fit the framework. See the European Commission’s guidance on accidents abroad.

Consap publishes lists of representatives appointed abroad by insurers operating in Italy. Check the insurer’s precise legal name, your country and the relevant appointment, rather than selecting a familiar company name from a search result.

Where a representative is involved, ask for written confirmation of the insurer represented, the accident reference and the scope of the appointment. Choosing a claims handler does not by itself settle which law applies or where proceedings could be brought. Once the handler is confirmed, use the practical guide to managing updates from abroad.

No insurer, or no identified vehicle

For the categories, evidence and property-damage limits, read the guide to uninsured and unidentified vehicles.

If the vehicle was uninsured or cannot be identified, investigate the Italian Road Accident Victims’ Guarantee Fund, rather than guessing an insurer. Consap administers the fund, while designated insurers investigate and settle claims. The applicable category, limits and territorial competence matter; a hit-and-run does not automatically mean that every item of property damage is covered.

Use Consap’s current procedure to identify the designated insurer and submission requirements, including the communication to Consap. Keep evidence supporting why the vehicle is said to be uninsured or unidentified. An unanswered message to a suspected insurer is not proof of either condition.

Before you press send

Once the route is identified, separate injury compensation and financial losses. Choosing the correct insurer does not determine how much each loss is worth.

If you have already written to the wrong company, keep that correspondence and establish promptly where the claim should go. Do not assume it has been forwarded or that a legal deadline has been protected. A claim number confirms that a file exists; it does not establish liability, completeness of the claim or an agreed payment.

For help identifying the route, use the form to describe the accident and the companies already involved. Mention any deadline or settlement offer. The initial enquiry does not require medical records or identity documents.

Enquire about an accident claim

General information, not a determination of the correct procedure in an individual case. Sending an enquiry does not create a professional engagement or constitute acceptance of a deadline.