Home insurance in Italy: what is required

What the law requires, and what it does not

The Ministry of Economy and Finance describes the catastrophe guarantee (“cat-nat”) introduced by the 2024 budget law (law 213/2023, article 1, paragraphs 101 to 111). It is tied to an obligation to take out policies covering damage from natural disasters and catastrophes for businesses with their registered office in Italy and for foreign companies with a permanent establishment in Italy, other than agricultural businesses. The company SACE S.p.A. may cover up to 50% of the compensation owed by private insurers, and the State backs SACE’s obligations (ministerial decree 30 January 2025, no. 18).

Read what that page does and does not say: it describes an obligation of businesses. It does not describe one for a private owner of a house or flat, and I found no official page that does. If you are a company or a self-employed owner, take professional advice on whether the obligation reaches your property; if you are a private owner, check with the insurance supervisor (IVASS) or your adviser whether anything has changed since the pages I read.

Mortgage-linked policies

When you take a mortgage, the lender may want insurance. The insurance supervisor IVASS answers the common questions on its consumer pages (a page last updated in November 2018, so check for later changes):

• You can bring your own policy. The competition law (law 124/2017, in force from 29 August 2017) requires banks and financial intermediaries to accept life and non-life policies that you find on the market, without changing the loan conditions, provided your policy has the minimum content the lender requires. Lenders and insurers must tell you about this right beforehand.
• You must be told the commission. Banks and intermediaries must tell you how much commission the insurer pays to the intermediary, in absolute terms and as a percentage of the loan.
• You can withdraw within 60 days of signing the loan from a policy sold with it. If the policy is needed for the loan or for its conditions, you can substitute one you found yourself with the lender’s minimum content.
• A single premium is refundable. If you repay the loan early or transfer it, the insurer must refund the part of a single premium that relates to the remaining period, or at your request continue the cover for the new designated beneficiary. See mortgage portability.
• Job-loss cover must suit you. IVASS says the insurer must check at signing that you can be insured and that the product fits your needs; if it sold to someone who could not be insured, it must refund premiums and costs in full.

Compare the cost of a lender’s package with an independent quote, and remember that the loan’s total cost indicators are explained in TAEG versus TAN. For life cover tied to a mortgage see mortgage insurance and life cover.

In a condominium: who owns what, who insures what

If your home is a flat, the structure, roof, stairs, façade and shared systems belong to all owners together (article 1117 of the civil code), and your flat is the private part. That split is why you need two answers, not one: what the building’s policy covers, if there is one, and what a policy on your own unit should cover. The code itself says only one thing about insurance in this setting: the meeting may make the administrator’s appointment depend on a personal liability policy for acts done in the job, and the administrator must raise the policy ceiling if the meeting votes extraordinary works (article 1129). The articles I read do not require a policy on the building. Ask the administrator whether a building policy exists, what it covers and for how much, and read condominium rules.

Questions to put to any insurer before you buy

These are practical prompts, not legal requirements:

1. What exactly is insured? The building, the contents, or both; and whether a flat’s private part and its share of the shared parts are treated separately.
2. On what basis is the sum insured set? Compare it with the cost of rebuilding, not with the purchase price.
3. What is excluded? Ask specifically about earthquake, flood and landslide, because the national obligation is aimed at businesses and a household policy may exclude or sub-limit them.
4. What is the excess? What part of a claim do you pay?
5. What happens if the home is empty? Many second homes are unoccupied for months; ask whether cover changes.
6. Who can claim? If the home is let, check what the policy says about tenants’ damage and your liability.
7. How do you cancel or transfer it if you sell?

For foreign owners

If you live abroad, ask for the policy terms in writing in a language you read, keep the policy number and the claims contact with the property file, and appoint someone in Italy who can open the door and answer the loss adjuster if you live abroad. The pages I read do not give separate rules for non-resident owners.

Which professional to consult

An independent insurance intermediary or the insurer’s agent explains cover; your mortgage broker can tell you what the lender requires; the notary checks the deed; the condominium administrator knows the building policy.