The friendly observation becomes digital, goodbye to the paper module: what changes for insured

It is a small revolution for millions of Italian motorists: the Friendly accident observationknown as CAI, says goodbye to the paper module and officially transferred to the smartphone. From 1 July 2025 it will in fact be active Over the whole national territory, the digital version of the document which serves to declare a road accident in a consensual way between the parties involved. The measure, promoted by the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, together with IVASS (Institute for Supervisory Supervisory), aims to modernize a crucial step in the management of car accidents.

How digital cia works

The new digital CAI will be accessible through a single platform or through the official apps of the main insurance companies. Users, in the event of a claim, will be able to fill in the declaration directly from the smartphone: by inserting the place, date, license plate of the vehicles involved, dynamics of the accident and photographs, with a guided system that assists step by step. The digital signature, via SPID or CIE, will be enough to validate the declaration. Both parties involved will be able to approve in real time what is declared, eliminating the need to fill in two paper copies, often the subject of errors, loss or ambiguity. In addition, the system has been designed in compliance with European regulations on the protection of personal data (GDPR). Access to the platform will therefore be safe, through certified identification, and all communications will be encrypted.

What is the CAI module for

The CAI module sooner or later, unfortunately, it happens to everyone to have to fill in it. But do we know what its usefulness is? The document aims to identify the parties involved in a traffic accident and the methods of the same; And « it is particularly important, being the tool through which every motorist involved in a claim (whether he is right or to be wrong) fulfills his obligation to report the accident, completing the fields and providing the company with a detailed description of the dynamics and the consequences of the accident », as explained to the Corriere della Sera Maurizio Hazanlawyer of the Thmr law firm and among the highest experts in the world of insurance.

Hazan lawyer what importance is Cai in a accident in the perspective of compensation?
Many. In fact, not everyone knows that the failure to report the accident could affect the effectiveness of the insurance coverage. Art. 143 of the Insurance Code, which also attributes to the CAI an important evidentiary value: when it is signed by both drivers involved in the accident, and except for the contrary proof by the insurance company, it is assumed that the accident occurred in the circumstances, in the manner and with the consequences described therein.

Why is digital Cai a step forward compared to the paper version?
Given that in modern technological society it was inevitable that the old paper module was destined to become digital, like the cash on delivery and the insurance certificate, the card version was easily altered and in the past it has often been the subject of fraudulent conduct. Digital support, therefore, should greatly reduce this risk, allowing a non -modifiable tracking of what is described in the module.

What other advantages are there for insured?
On average, today it takes from 10 to 15 days for the opening and initial management of a accident; With the digital CIA, the aim is to go down below 5 days. The availability of the CAI on smartphones or tablets could also allow you to immediately attach digital images useful to certify, with the best eloquence of the « analog » words and testimonies, the dynamics of the accident (as incidentally also detected by the Cassation in its order 28924/2022). This could lead, in the medium term, to a more effective and timely management of claims, with potential advantageous repercussions on insurance costs, also for the benefit of customers.

What changes for insurance companies?
In the immediate one, the companies will be required to a certain economic effort to conform to the new rules, which provide, among other things, the provision of contractors and insured applications
IT, through a software designed and developed to be used also on mobile devices, and accessible via the web, for the compilation of the left -wing denunciation form and the electronic transmission of the CAI module (which must be signed in the manner of
signature having safety requirements not less than those established for advanced electronic signature).

What are the timing? Is a transitional period expected?
The companies will have to activate all this, suitably assisted by adequate security systems in terms of privacy and cyberisk, by March 2026, a maximum term allowed to adapt to them.

Will it still be possible to use the paper version?
Since, of course, subjects not accustomed or not inclined to the world of digital communications will continue to continue, you can continue to use the CAI paper module compared to the digital one (digitalization will then think insurance). This possibility is ensured by Regulation 56, which always attributes to the customer, upon stipulating the policy or its renewal, to choose between the digital and paper module.