Those clients who purchase houses in Italy, sometimes decide to move their residency to the Country.

Foreign people who have an Italian valid permit, as well as their dependent family members, are obliged to register at the S.S.N (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale).

However, if you are not resident yet and are applying for your residency, you will be asked, among other documents, to provide a health insurance. If you come from a Schengen Country you need to apply at the Municipality, otherwise at the Police Headquarter (Italian “Questura“).

Many of our clients need a health insurance for the reason explained above, therefore we have asked some clarification to an insurance broker. Above all we asked how it is possible to obtain an Italian insurance if the law does not allow to insure a foreigner who does not reside within the Italian territory.

We spoke to Barbara Grasso, she is a very cutting edge insurance broker who has dedicated most of her professional life to this interesting sector. She gave us some tips.

Here our questions to Barbara and her answers:

L.L.: Barbara, we have spoken to many clients who have signed an Italian insurance contract despite they were not resident in the Country. Is this possible?

B.G.: Yes, the insurance company does not usually ask where the person resides.

L.L.: What happens then if the person involved needs medical care during the year in which the contract is ongoing?

B.G.: During the year in which the person is insured but not resident, he or she will most luckily not obtain any payment by the insurance company.

L.L.: How is this possible?

B.G.: The insurance company might not know if the person who demands for an insurance is actually resident in the Country or not. They (we) simply ask name, address, fiscal code and few other information about their health. The insurance companies usually give for granted that the insured already resides in the Country.
The problem is that, in case of accident, the insurance claim adjuster might check if the insured was actually resident in Italy when he subscribed the contract and, if not, might refuse to refund the claim.

L.L.: How have you sorted this issue? Can you make a different type of insurance which covers foreigners who do not reside in Italy?

B.G.: Yes, a foreigner can get a one-year “travel insurance”. This will cover any health issues during the journey, even within the Italian territory, and during the time in which the person in question is waiting for the definitive release of his/her residency.

L.L.: Will Municipalities accept this kind of insurance, since this is more specific for “travelling”?

B.G.: It might be possible that a Municipality asks for further clarification, but in case of any problems, the validity of this insurance can be easily explained by referring to the Italian Legislative Decree 06/02/2007 (as specified in the text of the policy).

L.L.: Can the person who wishes to apply for an Italian residency sign a health insurance in his/her Country? What is the difference in terms of costs?

B.G.: The insurance company could release an “international insurance”, which is usually more expensive. This contract also needs to be translated into Italian, which might increase costs even more.

L.L.: Does the travel insurance need to be done before your journey starts?

B.G.: Thank you for asking this question. This is a very important point.
Many people do not know that they need to subscribe a travel insurance contract before starting their journey and they sometimes do it after leaving their Country. Moreover, they need to save proof (tickets etc,) of the date when they started to travel from their original Country.

L.L.: Thank you Barbara, I believe that the information which you have provided us will be useful for our clients, home buyers who wish to move a residency to Italy, travelers, and many other people who did not know what there is behind a health or travel insurance policy.

B.G.: Thank you to you for allowing me to explain these important concepts to a public of luxury investors and home buyers.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.