A mandatory expense for those who own a car, which in recent years has once again weighed heavily on the budget of Italian families. We are talking about car liability, acronym for motor vehicle civil liability, the compulsory insurance that covers damage caused to third parties by the use of the vehicle. Despite a slight slowdown recorded in the last quarter, the price of policies has been constantly increasing since 2022 and in several areas of the country it has now reached levels that are anything but negligible. But saving, as we will see, is not an impossible task, regardless of where you live.
So the cost of car insurance has exploded in recent years
Ivass, the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance, keeps track of the average prices of car insurance and in its latest report highlights how the price of car insurance has increased by 3.2% in nominal terms compared to the previous year. Net of inflation, the increase is 1.5%. However, the price race seems to be losing speed: the latest data shows a slowdown in increases and some timid signs of a reversal compared to previous quarters.
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However, the problem emerges above all when looking at the overall picture. Compared to 2022, Italians today pay on average around 70 euros more per year to insure their car, with an increase of almost 20%. A growth that has consolidated in recent years, as the graph below clearly shows.
We are obviously talking about average prices, behind which even much lower or higher rates can hide. Car insurance is mandatory by law for motor vehicles used as means of transport, with some specific exceptions provided for by law. Created to protect victims of road accidents and guarantee compensation for physical and material damage, it at the same time protects the motorist from the risk that a single accident could have very serious consequences on his personal assets.
However, its cost is not fixed, but varies based on the insurance risk. Companies set the price taking into account numerous factors, including the driver’s age and experience, insurance history and province of residence (as we will see). But beyond the individual variables, the picture seems to have changed for the majority of motorists in the last four years for very specific reasons.
From inflation to claims reimbursement: what drives the increases
The rise in car insurance prices began in 2022, after almost a decade of progressive decline, and coincided with the sharp acceleration in inflation following the pandemic and the energy crisis. The main reason was not so much an increase in the number of accidents, but in their cost. According to Ivass, inflationary pressures have pushed up the prices of spare parts, labor and, more generally, repairs, increasing the amounts that companies have to pay to settle claims.
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In 2024, the average cost of a car liability claim thus reached 5,422 euros, 6.8% more than in 2023 and over 21% more than in 2019. In the same year, the frequency of claims remained substantially stable, going from 5.03% to 4.97%, and in any case at lower levels than those before the pandemic.
And the pressure on costs does not seem to have stopped: in the first half of 2025 the average cost of claims increased by a further 5.9% compared to the same period of the previous year. In essence, the decisive factor was not so much the increase in the number of accidents, but the fact that compensating them has become much more expensive.
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A dynamic that also depends on the growing complexity of modern vehicles, in which the presence of sensors, radars and “adas” (driving assistance) devices can make repairs more expensive even after a minor accident. Finally, what weighed was the adjustment to inflation of the amounts foreseen for compensation for biological damage (i.e. to people).
All factors that have pushed up the average cost of claims, increasing pressure on the premiums paid by motorists. But the increases are certainly not the same for everyone and the differences can be very marked even from one province to another.
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In fact, it is not just inflation and the increase in the cost of claims that determine the price of car insurance. For equal coverage, even the province of residence can make a notable difference, because the companies calculate the premium also taking into account the risk associated with the territory: the frequency and cost of claims have an impact, together with other factors used in the pricing.
The latest data from the Ivass Iper survey, relating to contracts recorded in the first quarter of 2026, show very large differences. Naples is the most expensive province, with an average premium of 599 euros, followed by Prato with 590 euros and Caserta with 542 euros. Above 500 euros we also find Pistoia (517 euros), Massa-Carrara (514), Florence (512) and Rome (505).
At the other extreme there is Potenza, where the average premium stops at 305 euros, followed by Enna (310), Oristano (314), Campobasso (333) and Pordenone (335). Between Naples and Potenza, therefore, there is almost 294 euros of difference, with the average Neapolitan premium being almost double.
Various factors may contribute to explaining at least in part the provincial gaps, from the frequency and average cost of claims to the risk of fraud, up to the characteristics of the territory and litigation. In areas considered riskier, where the probability of an accident or the complexity of its management is greater, companies tend to incorporate the greater risk into the price of the policy. For example, in its latest annual report, Ivass notes that in Naples 26.9% of claims are subjected to investigations for fraud risk, one of the highest values in Italy, and observes that, at provincial level, a greater incidence of these checks is associated with higher average premiums.
But the most expensive province does not necessarily mean the province where prices are increasing the most. In the last year the most significant increase was recorded in Vercelli (+5.8%), ahead of Milan (+5.6%) and Rome (+5.4%); followed by Frosinone and Siracusa (+4.8%) and Latina and Monza and Brianza (+4.7%).
In Naples, although the price level remains the highest in Italy, the increase compared to the first quarter of 2025 was just 1.1%, while in Prato it stopped at 0.6%. The geography of motor liability insurance therefore describes two different phenomena: on the one hand, very strong gaps persist in the absolute levels of premiums; on the other hand, in the last year, the most pronounced increases have also affected several provinces in the Centre-North.
What to do to save: all the remedies to reduce the cost
Although we cannot speak of extra profits, as in the energy or banking sector, the increase in premiums coincided with an improvement in the technical profitability of companies in the motor liability insurance sector. Instead, the wallets of motorists, already struggling with the high cost of living, were lightened. Yet something can be done to try to reduce the bill.
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The first rule is not to stop at the renewal with your company, but to compare the offers available on the market. A useful tool is Preventivass, the public comparator created by Ivass and the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, which allows you to compare the price of the basic car insurance contract offered by the different companies for free. However, pay attention to the conditions: a lower premium may be accompanied, for example, by a higher deductible or limitations on driving the vehicle.
Another possibility is to choose narrow-guided formulas. Expert driving allows the car to be entrusted only to drivers who meet certain age or license requirements, while exclusive driving limits driving to just one person. These clauses can reduce the premium, but require attention: if at the time of a driving accident there is a person not authorized by the contract, the company compensates the third party but can exercise the right of compensation against the insured, according to the limits established by the policy.
Especially in the more expensive provinces, it may also be convenient to evaluate the black box, which records information on the use of the vehicle and can give the right to discounts on the premium.
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The possibility of taking advantage of family liability insurance must then be verified which, in the presence of the requirements established by law, allows you to acquire the more favorable class of merit of another vehicle belonging to the same family unit. The benefit can concern both a new contract and, under certain conditions, the renewal of an existing policy.
Finally, it is advisable to distinguish the cost of compulsory liability insurance from that of additional guarantees, such as theft and fire, glass, atmospheric events or roadside assistance. Especially for a car with several years under its belt, maintaining all coverages may not be cost-effective. In short, the rule is simple: compare the offers, read the conditions carefully and choose only the coverage you really need. A useful precaution always, but even more so when the cost of living has started to increase again.
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