Revolution in motor vehicle liability policies: new features and interpretative challenges

The motor vehicle liability policies landscape in Italy is undergoing major changes as a result of Legislative Decree 184/2023, last December 23, 2023.

The latter, implementing EU Directive 2021/2118, introduces new rules in the area of motor TPL insurance, including the extension of the insurance obligation to vehicles located in private areas, causing quite a few interpretative and enforcement difficulties. D. Lgs. No. 184/2023: the insurance obligation and private areasThe main revolution introduced concerns precisely the expansion of the insurance obligation (amendment Art. 122 of the Private Insurance Code Decree 209-2005), which now also includes the circulation and parking of vehicles in all private areas, with the exception of specific situations. Specifically, regardless of the public or private area on which they are used, the following are subject to the obligation of RCA insurance:- Any motor vehicle propelled solely by mechanical power running on land but not on rails, with a maximum design speed exceeding 25 km/h or a maximum net weight exceeding 25 kg and a maximum design speed exceeding 14 km/h;- Any trailer intended for use with a vehicle referred to in number 1), regardless of whether it is coupled to it or not;- The light electric vehicles identified by a special decree of the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy and the Minister of Infrastructure and Transportation, in consultation with the Minister of the Interior, to be adopted within ninety days from the date of entry into force of this provision. The impact of Legislative Decree 184/2023.This reform also affects Article 122 of the Private Insurance Code (Legislative Decree 209/2005), which governs the obligation to insure motor vehicles. At the moment, the interpretations are not unambiguous, first and foremost those of Confindustria (20-02-2024), which believes that the obligation to take out a motor RCA policy under Legislative Decree No. 184 of November 22, 2023 is sanctioned only for vehicles as means of transportation, with the consequent exclusion of any other vehicle with a different usual function, such as forklifts.While waiting for the competent authorities to intervene in providing the correct interpretation of the new regulations, considering that any claims involving forklifts or other means of handling complying with the above technical characteristics could be contested by the Company RCT policy (which, as is well known, does not include damages resulting from the circulation of motor vehicles subject to compulsory insurance), with obvious criticality, it is recommended and encouraged to provide for the "mapping" of the vehicles used in the company.