Italy postpones compulsory Nat Cat insurance requirement for SMEs

Under the 2024 Italian Budget Law, all companies registered in Italy, including Italian branches of foreign companies, were initially required to secure insurance coverage for damages to properties, machinery, and equipment caused by natural disasters by 31 March 2025 (see here our recent news for more information on the obligation and the recently-issued implementing ministerial Decree). However, considering the high number of companies obliged to stipulate the compulsory Nat Cat insurance contract (of which 95% are micro-enterprises) as well as the circumstance that the time available to companies to take out such compulsory insurance, if the deadline remained 31 March, would have been too short to allow a careful comparison of the offers on the market, the Italian government has decided to extend the deadlines for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to ensure a more feasible and structured implementation. 

To this end, the Italian government has approved Decree-Law No. 39/2025 – which was published in the Italian official Gazette on 31 March 2025 and entered into force on the same date - extending the abovementioned deadline for SMEs (as defined under Directive 2013/34/EU) to comply with the compulsory insurance requirement, while maintaining the original deadline for large enterprises, as follows:

• Large enterprises (those that meet at least two of the following criteria: a balance sheet total of more than Euro 25,000,000; net turnover of more than Euro 50,000,000; average number of employees of more than 250): the original deadline of 31 March 2025 remains unchanged. The decree introduces a 90-day transition period for this type of business, until 30 June 2025, to allow companies without a Nat Cat insurance contract to comply with the requirement without incurring during such period the penalty provided by law for failure to comply with the insurance obligation (i.e. possible denial of access to public incentives or contributions). 
• Medium-sized enterprises (those that meet at least two of the following limits: a balance sheet total not exceeding Euro 25,000,000; net turnover not exceeding Euro 50,000,000; average number of employees up to 250): the new deadline for compliance is extended to 1 October 2025. 
• Small and micro-enterprises (those that meet at least two of the following criteria: a balance sheet total not exceeding Euro 5,000,000; net turnover not exceeding Euro 10,000,000; an average number of employees of 50 or less): These businesses will now have until 31 December 2025 to meet the insurance requirement.

For SMEs the provision of the law concerning the abovementioned applicable sanction for non-compliance with the insurance obligation shall apply from the same date as the insurance obligation arises as indicated above.

To ensure a clear and effective implementation of the obligation - and for a broad sharing of the rules with the parties during the phase of conversion of the Decree into law - a special panel has been set up at the competent Ministry, in which representatives of the production categories and of IVASS - the Italian insurance supervisory authority - will participate.

Authored by Silvia Lolli and Davide Valloni.