Request to convert the Register (Ruolo) of Insurance Assessors, held by ISVAP (Insurance Companies Supervisory Authorities), into a professional register (Albo), controlled also by the Italian Ministry of Justice
30.3.2009
WRITTEN QUESTION E-2421/09
by Alessandro Battilocchio (PSE)
to the Commission
I should like to pass on to the Commission the following request, made by the AICIS (Italian Association of Road Accident Consultants), which has been operating in Italy since 1969 and is a member of the FIEA (International Federation of Automobile Experts).
For years, the AICIS has been proposing that the definitions of VGI (vehicle which has been seriously damaged in an accident) and VI (total loss vehicle) be included in the Italian legal system as they have already been incorporated in the Belgian and French Highway Codes; it has also proposed that automobile experts, inter alia, be given the authority to revoke vehicle registration certificates each time they note, when carrying out an inspection after a road accident, that the vehicle is not safe, for instance if the steering equipment, braking system, suspension or parts of the chassis are involved.
We believe that converting the Register of Insurance Assessors (provided for under Title X, Chapter VI, of the Insurance Code — Leg. Decree 209/2005) into a Professional Register, to include the specific categories of Assessor (whose role is to draw up estimates for insurance purposes) and VGI/VI Certification Assessor (access to this position would be subject to prior training and experience qualifying the expert to perform further road safety functions, and the job would be subject to criminal liability, amongst other forms of liability), could provide an opportunity for a major public road safety awareness-raising campaign. It could also be an opportunity to remedy Italy's great backwardness in relation to the objectives of the European Road Safety Charter, the aim of which is to halve the number of road deaths by 2010.
Moreover, since this is a profession linked to compulsory third-party insurance, converting the Register into a Professional Register would not only resolve the problems relating to the lack of a government watchdog to monitor the ethics and retraining of Italian insurance assessors (tasks which the ISVAP does not currently cover), but would counterbalance the excessive power which Italian insurance companies are still perceived to have, and do have.
Transforming the Register (Ruolo) into a Professional Register (Albo) could also allow insurance disputes to be settled more swiftly by identifying forms of arbitration and mediation for which members of the VGI/VI Certification Assessor section would be responsible; this would relieve a large part of the burden on the civil courts, reduce decision times in disputes and enable consumers to reduce their costs substantially.
How does the Commission intend to take action on this issue?
OJ C 189, 13/07/2010