What to do in case of an accident

What to do in case of an accident

In case of an accident it is important to know what your duties and rights are and what to do to obtain compensation.

The easiest thing you must do is to fill in the blue agreed motor accident statement form (C.A.I.), which the insurance undertaking provided you at the time of signing the policy and send it to your company. In case of agreement on the dynamics of the accident, it is important that the blue form is signed jointly by both drivers involved, to shorten the time for paying damages; in case of disagreement it is nonetheless useful that you fill in your own blue form to provide your version on the dynamics of the accident.

In any event, if the blue form has not been filled in, you must inform your company in writing and make, also in your own interest, the so-called “precautionary claim” - i.e. a description of the accident.

Two different procedures exist to obtain compensation for the damage suffered: the ordinary one and direct compensation.

Direct compensation

It is the most common procedure. If just two vehicles, both of which registered and insured in Italy, have been involved in an accident for which you are not responsible (or are only partly responsible), you can request the direct compensation by directly contacting your insurance company. Through this procedure you can request the direct compensation of the damage to your vehicle and the objects transported and/or of injuries up to 9 points of disability (so-called minor injuries).

The direct compensation procedure is also applicable if in one or the other of the vehicles involved in the accident other individuals were present besides the drivers (passengers) who have suffered injuries, including serious injuries (over 9 points); it does not apply however in the event of bodily injuries suffered by passers-by.

Ordinary procedure

In the other cases (accidents in which more than 2 vehicles have been involved, or due to which injuries have been caused to passers-by or to the driver worth more than 9 points of disability, and accidents with vehicles registered abroad) you will be obliged to follow the ordinary compensation procedure.

You must therefore request compensation from the insurance undertaking of the vehicle responsible for the accident.

Here you can find two facsimile requests for damages: one for the direct compensation procedure (in Italian) and one for the ordinary procedure (in Italian).

Time-limits for the offer of compensation

Whatever procedure has been activated, the insurance company is required to make the compensation offer within 60 days of the date it received the request for compensation for the damage to property or to the vehicle and within 90 days for personal injuries.

The deadline of 60 days drops to 30 days if the two drivers of the vehicles involved both sign the agreed motor accident statement form (C.A.I. or blue form).

With reference to the case of personal injuries, it is important to know that the 90 days start on the date that a medical certificate of recovery or attesting to the stabilisation of sequelae is presented.

On the websites of the undertakings you can find further information on what to do in case of an accident as well as the list of the claim settlement centres which make up the peripheral network of the various companies.

In order to obtain compensation within the timescales indicated above, it is very important that the request is complete with all the elements envisaged by the law. Use our facsimile…

If the request lacks certain essential elements, the undertaking must inform you within 30 days, indicating the supplementary information necessary for the settlement of the claim. Once the sum offered has been accepted, the company is obliged to make the payment within the next 15 days.

Injuries to passengers

If you suffer personal injuries as a passenger, you shall make a request for compensation to the company of the vehicle in which you were travelling, which will take steps within 90 days to compensate the damage up to the minimum amount of cover established by law, irrespective of the ascertainment of the responsibility of the drivers.

The undertaking which has paid out the compensation will have recourse against the insurance company responsible for the accident.

If the damage exceeds the minimum amount of cover established by law, you shall have the right to request the excess portion from the company of the party responsible, provided that the latter is insured for an amount higher than the minimum amount of cover established by law.

Joint settlement

If the dispute with the insurance undertaking on the dynamics of the accident or the quantification of the damages concerns a compensation for an amount of no more than 15,000 euro, you can activate the Joint Settlement Procedure (in Italian) and avoid involving the courts.

This page is part of the European Commission’s Your Europe portal.

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