All that remains is to pay in installments. The race for car insurance prices does not stop, a new record and so one in four Italians opts for the installment payment of the premium, spending 10% more in this way. The average cost in June was 403 euros (IVASS data) and in July the average premiums were 460 euros (Osservatorio Segugio.it). An increase on an annual basis of 6.2% in nominal terms and 5.4% in real terms. You have to go back to 2019 to find such high numbers, well above inflation.
According to the survey by the Institute for Insurance Supervision, families in June spent an average of 403 euros compared to 380 euros in the same month of 2023. The 6.2% annual increase affected all of Italy without distinction. It ranges from +1.3% in Isernia and Catanzaro to +9.3% in Rome. The premium differential between Naples and Aosta is 264 euros, up 5.5% compared to the previous year. The price increase is confirmed by the Segugio.it Observatory which in July speaks of an average of 461.59 euros for premiums, therefore +5.46 on June and up 27.6% compared to the same month of 2022.
Consequences of the bloodletting? One in four Italians (25.6%) asks to pay their car insurance in installments. Two years ago, less than one in five insured did so. In July, there was a 19% increase in the use of installment offers, compared to the summer of 2022. A “forced decision” that, however, involves an expense of approximately 10% more, under the same conditions, compared to those who pay in a lump sum. The “penalty”, in fact, ranges from a minimum of 7.4% to a maximum of 15%.
Insurance companies explain that the increases are dictated by inflation, the increase in cars in circulation and therefore claims and the growing management costs. The sector, as demonstrated by the annual Ivass report of June, is healthy. At the end of 2023, the operating result was 8 billion euros. The solvency ratio of Italian companies (the level of capitalization) rose to 258% (+12% on 2022), in line with the European average. And inflation has been decreasing for months. But premiums are rising, uninterruptedly, in an “unjustified” way, says Codacons, which has quantified the blow for Italians. There are 32.9 million cars insured in Italy. This means 1.65 billion euros to the detriment of Italian motorists in the last two years.
