A road traffic accident abroad immediately raises practical questions: to whom you must send the claim, whether you can handle it from Italy, which law determines the compensation, and what happens when the foreign insurer does not reply. The presence of acronyms such as CONSAP, UCI and Green Card can make an already complicated path even less clear due to language and distance.
I want to help you distinguish the available procedures without confusing them. The insurer's Italian claims representative, the compensation body, and the Green Card offices perform distinct functions. We will see when you can submit the claim in Italy, which damages to document, and why receiving the file here does not necessarily mean applying Italian compensation criteria.
The country of the accident and the vehicle's license plate change the procedure
There is no single procedure for all accidents occurring outside Italy. At least the country of the accident, the residence of the injured party, the State where the responsible vehicle is normally based, and the one where the company insuring it is established matter. The citizenship of the drivers alone does not allow identifying the recipient of the claim.
For an Italian resident injured in another Member State by a vehicle insured and normally based in a different Member State, Articles 151, 152 and 153 of the Private Insurance Code provide a system allowing you to turn to the responsible insurer or its appointed claims representative for claims settlement in Italy. The discipline is contained in Legislative Decree no. 209 of 7 September 2005.
The mechanism can extend, under certain conditions, also to an accident occurring in a third country adhering to the Green Card system, when the responsible vehicle is insured and normally based in a Member State. If instead the vehicle has a license plate and insurance from a country outside this scope, it may be necessary to turn to the national office of the place of the accident, the foreign insurer, or other subjects indicated by local legislation.
Furthermore, the claim against the responsible party must be separated from the claim based on a guarantee of your own policy. Coverage for damage to your vehicle, roadside assistance, or driver injuries depend on the contract stipulated with your company; the compensation owed by the responsible party instead follows the rules of civil liability applicable to the accident.
When you can turn to the claims representative in Italy
The claims representative is the Italian contact person appointed by the foreign company to collect information, manage the claim, and negotiate the settlement on behalf of the insurer. They must be established in the State for which they are designated and communicate in the official language of the injured party. They are not your company and do not automatically apply the direct compensation procedure provided for certain accidents occurring in Italy.
You can also submit the claim directly to the insurer of the responsible vehicle. Turning to the claims representative is often easier because it allows using Italian and transmitting the documentation to a contact person present in Italy. Within three months of the complete request, the enterprise or the claims representative must formulate a reasoned offer or indicate the reasons why they do not intend to formulate one.
The three-month term does not mean that every file must necessarily end with a payment. A contested liability, the absence of final medical documents, or the impossibility to verify certain expenses can lead to an interlocutory or negative response, which must in any case be reasoned on the elements presented.
The appointment of the claims representative does not decide the competent judge and does not transform the accident into an Italian one. If the negotiation does not lead to an agreement, it is necessary to distinguish the possibility of acting against the insurer or the responsible party from the jurisdiction of the court and the applicable law. Directive 2009/103/EC relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles keeps these issues separate from the function of the claims representative.
Green Card and UCI do not perform the same function as the claims representative
The Green Card proves international coverage in countries participating in the relevant system. Before leaving, it is useful to check with the company the territorial extension of the policy and whether the document is required in the destination State. The Green Card facilitates the identification of the insurer and the functioning of national offices, but does not establish who is at fault nor how much must be compensated.
UCI, Ufficio Centrale Italiano, is the Italian national office of the system. Its direct intervention mainly concerns accidents occurring in Italy and caused by vehicles registered abroad. Article 126 of the Insurance Code regulates its functions and standing, as resulting from Ministerial Decree no. 86 of 1 April 2008.
If the accident occurs abroad, therefore, UCI does not automatically become the recipient of your request just because you reside in Italy. It can participate in relations between national offices or collaborate with the Italian Compensation Body, but the first contact person may be the claims representative, the responsible insurer, or the competent Green Card office in the country of the accident.
The license plate is a decisive datum. You must note it down entirely, including the State and special characters, together with the data of the driver, the owner, and the insurer. A legible photograph of the license plate and of the documents shown on the spot reduces the risk that a transcription error prevents identifying the competent company.
When CONSAP intervenes as the Italian Compensation Body
CONSAP does not immediately replace the insurer. The Insurance Code assigns it the function of Italian Compensation Body for specific situations concerning injured parties resident in Italy. In accidents caused by a regularly insured vehicle, you can turn to the body when the enterprise or the claims representative have not provided a reasoned response within three months or when the company has not appointed a claims representative in Italy, under the conditions provided by Articles 297 and 298.
The intervention is subsidiary to the request addressed to the responsible party, the insurer, or the claims representative. Direct legal action affects the path: the Body abstains or ceases to intervene when the injured party undertakes legal action directly against the insurance enterprise or against the responsible party. Before choosing between a claim to CONSAP and a lawsuit, it is therefore necessary to avoid overlapping initiatives.
A distinct discipline concerns the unidentified vehicle, the impossibility to identify the company, and the insurer subject to winding-up proceedings or equivalent procedure. The amendments introduced by Legislative Decree no. 184 of 2023 have extended protection in case of the enterprise's insolvency and updated Articles 296, 297 and 298, as shown by the text published in the Official Gazette.
A generic delay is not enough to use any CONSAP procedure. It is necessary to identify the precise regulatory hypothesis, verify where you reside, where the accident occurred, where the vehicle is based, and which situation concerns the insurer. The compensation body is not a free alternative to be chosen just because the negotiation with the company appears difficult.
Which law determines liability and the amount of damage
Compensation does not automatically follow Italian tables. The fact that the claim is submitted to the claims representative in Italy does not modify the applicable substantive law. Within the European framework, the general rule of Article 4 of the Rome II Regulation refers to the law of the country where the direct damage occurs, but the exceptions of the regulation and applicable international conventions must be considered.
Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations also distinguishes direct damage from indirect consequences. In road traffic accidents, the place where the person suffers the injury or the property is damaged normally assumes a central role. The Italian residence of the injured party does not for this reason make every liquidation criterion Italian.
The applicable law regulates several aspects: liability criteria, contributory negligence, compensable items, quantification, and, generally speaking, limitation periods. It is therefore risky to presume that Italian terms apply or to wait for the completion of treatments before sending any communication. The initial request can be submitted reserving the integration of medical documents and expenses not yet final.
Personal injury
Injuries must be linked to the accident through consistent medical documents: emergency room reports, examinations, prescriptions, certifications, treatment receipts, and documentation on any loss of income. The mere production of a diagnosis does not automatically prove duration, permanent consequences, and the necessity of every expense.
The applicable law establishes whether and how temporary and permanent disability, suffering, personal assistance, loss of earnings, and consequences for family members are compensated. A calculation based solely on Italian criteria can be misleading when the competent legal system uses different categories, thresholds, or systems of proof.
Vehicle damage and other expenses
The repair cost is not always the only parameter. The value of the vehicle before the accident, the economic convenience of the repair, the residual value, and local rules on technical downtime or replacement vehicles can matter. Estimates, invoices, and photographs must allow linking the interventions to the damages produced by the impact.
Towing, storage, travel, overnight stay, or return of the vehicle are not reimbursed just because they were incurred after the accident. Proof of payment, the link with the accident, and their reasonableness according to applicable law are required. Keep every receipt and limit, as far as possible, the avoidable increase in costs.
How to prepare and send the compensation claim
The reconstruction begins at the scene of the accident. If conditions permit, collect data of drivers and vehicles, company and policy number, photographs of the position and damages, contact details of witnesses, and a copy of the completed accident report form. When local police intervene, note down the authority and the reference necessary to request the report.
The claim must identify the parties, indicate date, time and place, describe the dynamics, and specify the damages claimed. Documents already available must be attached, clarifying which ones will be integrated. A precise claim correctly starts the comparison; a simple notification devoid of essential elements may not allow the insurer to take a reasoned position.
To identify the claims representative, at least the foreign license plate, the registration State, the date of the accident, and, if known, the company are needed. If these data are missing or uncertain, the search for the insurer can follow a different path. Do not correct a poorly legible license plate from memory: keep the original image and report the doubt.
An offer can be accepted or contested. Before signing a final release, check whether it includes only material damages or also injuries, whether it leaves open medical consequences not yet stabilized, and what effect it produces according to the applicable law. An advance payment expressly indicated as such is different from a sum offered in full and final settlement of any claim.
If liability is disputed, the discussion must focus on the facts: right of way, signage, point of impact, statements, findings, and local traffic rules. A signature on the amicable form is an evidentiary element, but its concrete value must be read together with the other data and the applicable rules, without considering it automatically decisive in every legal system.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim compensation from Italy?
Yes, when European prerequisites are met, you can turn to the Italian claims representative of the company insuring the responsible vehicle or directly to the enterprise. However, you must verify the State of the accident, the license plate, the usual location of the vehicle, and the seat of the insurer. Residence in Italy alone does not always make this procedure available.
Does my Italian insurance have to pay for the damages?
Not necessarily. The Italian company intervenes if a guarantee of your policy covers the damage, for example assistance, driver injuries, or vehicle damage. The claim against the responsible party and their insurer instead follows the applicable international procedure. Direct Italian compensation does not automatically extend to an accident occurred abroad.
How long does the claims representative have to reply?
The foreseen term is three months from receipt of the compensation claim: within this period the enterprise or the claims representative must communicate a reasoned offer or explain why they do not formulate one. The term does not guarantee payment if liability or damages remain contested, but silence can allow access to the Compensation Body, when the other requirements are met.
Does CONSAP always pay if the foreign company does not reply?
No, the intervention is subject to precise conditions. The accident must fall within the territorial and insurance scope provided by the Code, the injured party must be resident in Italy, and silence beyond three months, the lack of a claims representative, or another specific regulatory hypothesis must exist. Legal action already started against the insurer or responsible party may prevent the intervention.
Is the damage calculated using Italian tables?
Not automatically. The applicable law depends on private international law rules and normally attaches relevance to the place where the direct damage occurred. The claims representative can manage the claim in Italian, but this does not make the criteria for liability, injuries, vehicle damage, expenses, and limitation periods Italian.
Should I accept the claims representative's offer?
You can contest an insufficient offer, indicating which damages were not considered, which documents prove them, and why the motivation is incorrect. Before accepting, check whether the sum is an advance payment or a final settlement and whether it also includes injuries not yet stabilized. The release can close further claims according to its content and the applicable law.
Choosing the correct path
Before sending the claim, it is useful to clarify four data: where the accident occurred, where you reside, which license plate the responsible vehicle had, and where its company is established. The choice between claims representative, foreign insurer, CONSAP, and Green Card system depends on these elements.
If liability is contested, the vehicle is not identified, the insurer is in liquidation, or you have received a settlement proposal, you can contact me to evaluate which procedure is applicable and what effects each initiative produces.