894 days have passed since the Council of Ministers (February 20, 2015), presented the first draft law of the year for market and competition, complying with an obligation introduced in 2009 (Law no. 99 of July 23, 2009) which had not been complied with until then. The law had been submitted to the Chamber of Deputies ion April 3, 2015, and approved at first reading by the Chamber of Deputies on October 7, 2015 and by the Senate on May 3, 2017. After being submitted to the Chamber of Deputies one more time, it was finally approved by the Senate of the Republic just yesterday, on August 2, 2017 (see Draft Law). The regulatory process started way back: everything began with the famous Monti Liberalization Decree, then converted into the Law no. 27 of March 24, 2012.
Among the most important new features, there is obviously the one concerning car insurance discounts and black boxes.. Discounts are introduced for ‘virtuous’ drivers and for those who will agree to have the black box installed in their vehicle. Specifically, the new law establishes a significant discount for the insured person “if, at the proposal of the insurance company, ‘black boxes’ or other similar electronic devices that record the vehicle’s activity are installed, or if such devices are already present and made portable“.
The Law also contains a reference (Art. 145-bis) to the thorny topic of portability and interoperability, on which Viasat has been campaigning for a long time, also in the associative sphere (TSP Association). It states that “The interoperability and portability of electronic mechanisms that record the vehicle’s activity as per article 132-ter, paragraph 1, letter b), even in cases where the policyholder has signed an insurance contract with an insurance company other than the one that installed the electronic devices, are guaranteed by operators, hereinafter referred to as insurance telematics providers…”.
Finally, another extremely important point concerns the mandatory nature of the black box: “The Government is delegated to adopt, within twelve months from the date this law came into force, one or more legislative decrees aimed at regulating the installation on vehicles of the so-called “black boxes” or other similar electronic devices, also with the aim of creating technological platforms for a multidisciplinary, integrated urban development, in accordance with the EU legislation and in compliance with the following principles and guidelines […] to progressively extend the use of the electronic devices, prioritizing vehicles that perform a public service or benefit from public incentives and, secondly, private vehicles used for the transport of persons or goods, without increasing the burden on citizens”.
“The extensive use of Black Boxes on heavy trucks and cars can solve the problem of insurance fraud, which makes motor insurance more expensive penalizing transport companies and virtuous motorists alike” explains Domenico Petrone, President of the Viasat Group. “The measure will improve the security of people and the efficiency of freight transport, creating jobs for thousands of technicians in the technological sector (Industry 4.0) and in the induced services (safety, logistics, transport, etc…), guaranteeing clear social benefits (protection, security, accident reduction, etc…) while optimizing and improving the efficiency of national logistics and transport companies, with a lasting, positive structural impact on the whole country. Thanks to this measure, a very long chain of opportunities opens up once again: in the industrial, logistics and transport sectors with more than 10 billion Euros per year in savings, and for honest and virtuous motorists, with benefits exceeding 12 billion Euros per year”.
