Italy’s Car Insurance Loophole: Why Tens of Thousands Are Registering Their Vehicles in PolandTens of thousands of Italian drivers are now registering their cars in Poland to avoid Italy’s notoriously high insurance premiums—a workaround that has grown so widespread it’s raising concerns in both countries.According to reports from Polish broadcaster TVP World and multiple Italian outlets, the phenomenon is especially concentrated in Naples, where an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles currently circulate with Polish license plates despite never having entered Polish territory. Drivers exploit a legal grey area that allows vehicles registered abroad to circulate in Italy for up to 90 days before requiring Italian plates and insurance. By working through intermediaries, many of whom offer full “registration packages” for a fee, Italian car owners secure liability insurance in Poland, where average premiums remain far lower than Italy’s. The result is an influx of Polish-plated vehicles on Italian streets, a disproportionate number of which are registered in the names of Polish citizens who have never seen the cars they supposedly own. The trend escalated sharply through 2024, prompting Italy’s Guardia di Finanza to intervene. In the Naples area, officers seized Polish documents and license plates linked to suspicious registrations, while Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport confirmed that reforms to national insurance laws are underway. The government aims to close the loophole by tightening rules on residency, vehicle ownership, and cross-border insurance practices. Polish insurers have also raised alarms. The Polish Chamber of Insurance warns that these fraudulent registrations distort national risk calculations, placing an unfair burden on domestic policyholders. Intermediaries often provide false information about where the vehicle is kept, who actually drives it, and how it is used—all factors that influence insurance premiums. As a result, Polish companies end up insuring high-risk drivers at artificially low rates, subsidised indirectly by honest policyholders. Both Italy and Poland are now preparing stricter enforcement mechanisms. Italy’s reforms are expected to include shorter circulation periods for foreign plates, clearer residency-based insurance requirements, and harsher penalties for drivers who register their cars abroad while residing permanently in Italy. Poland, meanwhile, is reviewing methods to verify that vehicles registered in the country are truly based there and operated by the individuals listed on the paperwork. What began as a clever workaround for expensive insurance costs has become an international problem—one that highlights the disparities between EU member states’ regulations and the ways drivers exploit them. As Italian authorities move to close the loophole and Polish insurers tighten oversight, the era of Polish-plated cars dominating the streets of Naples may finally be coming to an end.

Tens of thousands of Italian drivers are now registering their cars in Poland to avoid Italy’s notoriously high insurance premiums—a workaround that has grown so widespread it’s raising concerns in both countries. According to reports from Polish broadcaster TVP World and multiple Italian outlets, the phenomenon is especially concentrated in Naples, where an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 vehicles currently circulate with Polish license plates despite never having entered Polish territory. Drivers exploit a legal grey area that allows vehicles registered abroad to circulate in Italy for up to 90 days before requiring Italian plates and insurance. By working through intermediaries, many of whom offer full “registration packages” for a fee, Italian car owners secure liability insurance in Poland, where average premiums remain far lower than Italy’s. The result is an influx of Polish-plated vehicles on Italian streets, a disproportionate number of which are registered in the names of Polish citizens who have never seen the cars they supposedly own. The trend escalated sharply through 2024, prompting Italy’s Guardia di Finanza to intervene. In the Naples area, officers seized Polish documents and license plates linked to suspicious registrations, while Italy’s Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport confirmed that reforms to national insurance laws are underway. The government aims to close the loophole by tightening rules on residency, vehicle ownership, and cross-border insurance practices. Polish insurers have also raised alarms. The Polish Chamber of Insurance warns that these fraudulent registrations distort national risk calculations, placing an unfair burden on domestic policyholders. Intermediaries often provide false information about where the vehicle is kept, who actually drives it, and how it is used—all factors that influence insurance premiums. As a result, Polish companies end up insuring high-risk drivers at artificially low rates, subsidised indirectly by honest policyholders. Both Italy and Poland are now preparing stricter enforcement mechanisms. Italy’s reforms are expected to include shorter circulation periods for foreign plates, clearer residency-based insurance requirements, and harsher penalties for drivers who register their cars abroad while residing permanently in Italy. Poland, meanwhile, is reviewing methods to verify that vehicles registered in the country are truly based there and operated by the individuals listed on the paperwork. What began as a clever workaround for expensive insurance costs has become an international problem—one that highlights the disparities between EU member states’ regulations and the ways drivers exploit them. As Italian authorities move to close the loophole and Polish insurers tighten oversight, the era of Polish-plated cars dominating the streets of Naples may finally be coming to an end.