ROME – Last year in Italy there was a strong growth in car thefts with an increase of 18.9%. A phenomenon which, although widespread throughout the national territory, with an average of two vehicles stolen for every thousand in circulation, has a much higher incidence in some regions. A study by the Segugio.it Observatory, a leading portal in the Italian market for the online comparison of insurance products, highlights how the trend goes from a minimum of 0.1 in Valle d’Aosta and Trentino-Alto Adige to a maximum of 6. 3 in Campania and 5.5 in Puglia.
The research also highlights how the theft and fire guarantee, which protects policyholders in the event of vehicle theft, has an average diffusion of 19%, but paradoxically the two regions in which thefts are most frequent (Campania and Puglia) are precisely those in which the extension of this guarantee is at its lowest, at 3.7% and 4.2% respectively. According to analysts, there are two main reasons for this phenomenon, namely the cost of the guarantee, which in Campania and Puglia is respectively 366.2 euros and 301.3 euros, in addition to triple the national average of 99.4 euros. The second factor is the high cost of insurance, which, particularly in these two regions and in a period of sharp rise in premiums, reduces the possibility for consumers to purchase other guarantees. In fact, according to what was recorded by the Segugio.it Observatory, the average car insurance premium in August (444.6 euros) increased by 1.6% on the month of July and by 20.4% on the same month of the year previous.
“The advice for all consumers, in particular for those in Campania and Puglia – they underline – is to make use of the comparison to change company or renegotiate with their insurer, thus counteracting the general increases in liability insurance. In this way you can free up financial resources to be able to better insure your assets, for example with fire and theft insurance or your person, for example with driver accident insurance”.