LADY LARISA
SANLORENZO SX88 Built by Sanlorenzo in 2018, LADY LARISA combines contemporary Italian design with versatile living spaces and a seamless connection to the water. Exterior
THE EYB COUNTRY GUIDES · Italy
Understand compulsory liability cover, verify the insurance provider and organise the policy arrangements when ownership changes.
Boat insurance Italy decisions involve more than obtaining a premium quotation. Start with the compulsory liability requirement, then ask what the proposed policy actually covers for your boat and intended use. If you are buying or selling, settle the policy arrangements alongside the ownership handover. A seller's existing document does not explain which statutory option the seller will choose at the sale, so the buyer needs a clear, documented coverage position before taking the boat out.
This guide covers motorised recreational boats, removable engines, foreign boats visiting Italy, provider checks and the effect of a sale on compulsory liability insurance. It also explains how to read the proposed cover and raise a complaint. Additional protection for the boat itself depends on the actual policy you agree. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Key facts at a glance
Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 123(1), requires personal-injury liability insurance towards third parties for motorised recreational boats navigating in public-use waters or equivalent areas.
IVASS – Private Insurance Code, updated 19 Jun 2026 ·Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 123(3), extends compulsory insurance to removable engines of any power, with the boat carrying the engine treated as insured.
IVASS – Private Insurance Code, updated 19 Jun 2026 ·Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 125(1), requires the specified foreign-registered boats and foreign-documented removable engines to meet the insurance obligation for the duration of their temporary stay in Italy.
IVASS – Private Insurance Code, updated 19 Jun 2026 ·Under Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 171(1), the seller irrevocably chooses termination with the specified unused-premium refund net of tax and compulsory contribution, assignment to the buyer, or substitution for another owned boat with any premium adjustment.
Normattiva – insurance after a sale, updated 30 Jun 2015 ·IVASS states that an insurer's complaints office must answer a complaint within 45 days.
IVASS – complaints procedure, updated 27 May 2025 ·Section 1
The Codice delle assicurazioni private, Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 123, addresses motorised recreational boats navigating in public-use waters or equivalent areas. Its compulsory liability requirement concerns personal injury to third parties. Establish that position first, then ask the insurer to explain any other protection in the proposed contract. As a practical recommendation, discuss damage to the boat itself, theft and the activities you intend to undertake as separate questions. Do not assume the compulsory liability wording answers every question about protecting the yacht's value.
Removable engines have an express rule that does not depend on a minimum power threshold. The code attaches the compulsory insurance obligation to such engines and treats the boat currently carrying the engine as insured. Before accepting a proposal, give the insurer the correct engine identification and explain where you intend to use it. As a practical document check, compare those details with the policy evidence supplied. This is particularly useful where the tender, engine or boat has changed since an earlier document was issued.
Foreign registration does not remove the stated insurance obligation during a temporary stay in Italy. Article 125 addresses the foreign-registered craft and foreign-documented removable engines within its scope, and identifies a prescribed contract route or the accepted international-certificate route for boats. Tell your existing insurer about the intended Italian use and request a written explanation of compliance. A practical review should identify the relevant boat or engine, the period of cover and the document relied upon, rather than assume any foreign policy document is automatically sufficient.
Broker tip: Give the insurer the actual boat, engine and intended navigation details. Ask it to identify the document establishing compulsory cover and explain separately what protection you are buying for the yacht itself. See also our guide on whether you need a boat survey in Italy.
Boat insurance and tax paperwork on a desk.
Compulsory cover
Section 2
Check the insurer and any intermediary before paying. The Italian insurance supervisor, Istituto per la vigilanza sulle assicurazioni (IVASS), provides official registers and consumer verification guidance. Its guidance includes insurer authorisation and the relevant Italian or European intermediary listing. Use those checks to establish who is actually offering the policy. As a practical recommendation, keep the proposal, the provider's full identity and the payment instructions together while you review them, so a discrepancy between the quotation and the contracting insurer can be examined before you proceed.
An insurance intermediary and the insurer issuing the contract have different roles in the transaction. The Italian intermediary register is called Registro Unico degli Intermediari (RUI). Ask the person presenting the quotation to identify both its own capacity and the insurer that will issue the cover. Then compare the names and contact information supplied with the official record. As a practical check, if anything does not match, obtain clarification through independently verified contact details rather than use only a reply address supplied with the original proposal.
After checking the identities, review the proposal against the cover you requested. As a practical recommendation, write down the intended navigation, activities and ownership arrangement, and ask the provider to confirm how the proposed contract responds. Keep any clarification with the quotation so it can be compared with the documents issued after purchase. If the supplier changes the insurer or the terms before payment, review the revised proposal again. The official checks establish the provider's status; your separate document review should establish what this particular contract says.
Broker tip: Verify both the intermediary and the issuing insurer, then compare the documents and contact details. Keep the verified identities with your quotation so you know which provider has actually offered the cover. Readers often go on to our guide on what safety equipment a boat must carry in Italy.
Signing a boat purchase agreement.
Checking the provider
Buying or selling a boat in Italy and want a second opinion on the insurance handover? Speak to one of our brokers.
Section 3
Request a quotation showing the cover offered and the total premium payable, then read the policy limits separately from the price. Article 128 establishes the statutory personal-injury minimum for compulsory liability. That is a limit of cover, not the price of insurance or a guarantee that every loss will be paid. As a practical comparison, ask each provider to quote against the same boat and intended use, and identify any excess, exclusion or optional protection in the actual proposal before deciding which contract to accept.
The code requires the insurer's contract documents to be clear and comprehensive, with specified limitations and policyholder burdens given particular prominence. Use that requirement as a reason to ask direct questions about unclear wording. As a practical recommendation, request written clarification of geographical use, the permitted activities and any condition linked to the boat's condition or records. Do not treat an unanswered question as confirmation of cover. Keep the explanation with the proposal and compare it with the final wording supplied when the policy is issued.
For a sale, Article 171 gives the seller an irrevocable choice among the stated termination, assignment and replacement routes. The termination route includes the statutory treatment of the unused premium, while replacement can involve a premium adjustment. The buyer and seller should therefore discuss insurance before completion and tell the insurer which arrangement is intended. Ask the insurer to confirm the resulting cover and documents. The official sources used here do not establish a universal annual premium, so no market-price estimate is substituted for a real quotation. Annual premiums, excesses, own-damage and theft cover, claims deadlines and compensation procedures are not covered here: email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
Broker tip: Settle the insurance arrangement before the ownership handover. Ask the insurer to confirm the resulting policyholder, boat details and cover, and keep that confirmation alongside the seller's chosen statutory policy option. Our guide on how much a berth costs in Italy covers a related point.
Model yacht beside a calculator for boat tax costs.
Policy and handover
Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 128(1)(a), sets a compulsory-liability personal-injury minimum of EUR 6,450,000 per accident, irrespective of the number of victims, in the text checked on 3 October 2026.
Source: Normattiva – liability limits, updated 28 Dec 2023Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 166(1), requires the contract and other documents supplied by the insurer to be clear and comprehensive.
Source: Normattiva – policy wording, updated 1 Jan 2006Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 166(2), requires particular prominence for clauses concerning forfeiture, nullity, coverage limitations or burdens on the policyholder or insured.
Source: Normattiva – policy wording, updated 1 Jan 2006Under Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 171(1), the seller irrevocably chooses termination with the specified unused-premium refund net of tax and compulsory contribution, assignment to the buyer, or substitution for another owned boat with any premium adjustment.
Source: Normattiva – insurance after a sale, updated 30 Jun 2015Under Legislative Decree 209/2005, Article 171(2), the seller informs the insurer and buyer at the ownership transfer whether the insurance contract is being assigned with the boat.
Source: Normattiva – insurance after a sale, updated 30 Jun 2015Section 4
Keep the quotation, issued policy, payment evidence and relevant correspondence in a file you can retrieve. As a practical recommendation, ask the insurer to clarify a discrepancy in writing and identify the outcome you seek. Separate an enquiry about cover from a complaint about the insurer's conduct, so the recipient understands what it needs to answer. If you make a complaint, use the insurer's complaints office and retain a copy showing what you sent and when, rather than rely only on an informal telephone conversation.
IVASS describes the insurer-first complaints route and the circumstances in which you can approach the supervisor. Its page provides complaint-office contacts and an official submission form. As a practical recommendation, assemble a concise chronology before submitting your account: the proposal you received, the cover issued and the correspondence relevant to the problem. Attach the documents that support the issue you are raising. Keep the language specific to the service or conduct disputed, and avoid mixing unrelated purchase disagreements into the insurance complaint file.
The insurer's complaint-response deadline should not be treated as a promise of a claims payment or as a replacement for the requirements governing the actual claim. The sources used here establish the complaints route, but this guide does not establish every notification requirement, claims timetable or compensation procedure for a boating incident. For a real incident, check the policy instructions and ask the insurer to identify the procedure that applies. Where a dispute raises legal questions, obtain advice from a locally qualified lawyer using the actual documents.
Broker tip: Keep a dated copy of the complaint and its supporting documents. Use the insurer's complaints-office contact and record any response, so you can explain the history clearly if escalation becomes necessary. A related question is answered in our guide on whether you need a boat licence in Italy. For local buying advice, see our guide on buying a boat in Sicily.
Boat sale contract with a legal stamp.
If it goes wrong
Practical support
Peter Mattey is a yacht broker at European Yacht Brokers with a BA in Law. He is not an Italian lawyer or an insurance adviser: for cover and claims we refer you to a licensed insurer or intermediary. What we can do is help you plan the purchase, put the right questions to the seller and make sure the insurance handover is settled before you take the boat out.
If you are looking for a boat in Italy, tell us the type of boat, your budget and the area through the enquiry form on this page and a broker will reply. For anything this guide does not cover, email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information.
The handover of a boat at the dock.
Your questions
Yes, the code extends compulsory insurance to removable engines of any power. Under that rule, the boat carrying the engine is treated as insured. Give the insurer the actual engine identification and explain the intended use, then compare those details with the documents supplied rather than assuming an earlier certificate still describes the current arrangement. (IVASS – Private Insurance Code)
The foreign-registered boat must meet the stated insurance obligation for its temporary stay in Italy. The code provides a prescribed insurance-contract route and an accepted international-certificate route for boats. Ask the insurer which route the actual documents support, and obtain written clarification covering the boat, intended navigation and relevant period before relying on the existing foreign policy. (IVASS – Private Insurance Code)
Do not assume that it continues, because the code gives the seller a choice of termination, assignment or replacement. The seller has the stated notification role at the transfer. Establish the selected arrangement before completion and ask the insurer to confirm the cover and resulting documents for the buyer rather than rely on a copy of the seller's previous policy. (Normattiva – insurance after a sale)
Check the issuing insurer and intermediary against the official IVASS records. Identify each role in the proposal, compare the supplied details with the register and review relevant warnings. Keep those checks with the quotation, and seek clarification through independently verified contacts if the identity or information does not match before you make a payment. (IVASS – protecting consumers)
Send the complaint to the insurer's complaints office first. Keep the policy, correspondence and a dated copy of your submission together, and describe the conduct disputed and the response you seek. The IVASS page explains the insurer-first route and escalation conditions, and provides contact lists and a submission form if you need to approach the supervisor. (IVASS – complaints procedure)
This guide does not set premiums, excesses or optional cover prices, because they depend on the boat and the policy. Email us at info@europeanyachtbrokers.com for the latest information, and ask each insurer to quote against the same boat and intended use.
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Check it yourself
Articles 123 and 125 of the Private Insurance Code: motorised boats, removable engines and foreign temporary stays.
Official checks for insurer and intermediary status, identity consistency and warnings.
Article 166 of the Private Insurance Code: clear wording and prominent limiting clauses.
Article 171 of the Private Insurance Code: compulsory-liability policy options at ownership transfer.
Article 128 of the Private Insurance Code: statutory liability minimum in the dated text.
Official insurer-first complaint route, response period, contact lists and submission form.
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More guides for sellers and buyers: yacht brokers Italy.
More guides for sellers and buyers: yacht brokers Italy.