Insurance can break down into a few different categories:

Health insurance

• You are required to carry health insurance while living in Italy.
• We have typically used the public health system while in Italy, so we have not used our private health insurance very much. That said, each person or family is different. Some prefer the public system due to the cost, while others prefer the private hospitals as they are typically offer higher quality care, although you will pay more for the private services.
• We have had good results finding policies through Good Neighbor Insurance. The policies that we have purchased through GNI have, to date, been satisfactory for both the Visa and Permesso di Soggiorno document processes.
• We have had difficulty having some frequently-used plans, such as Medishare and similar companies, accepted for the documentation processes in Italy.

Renter’s insurance

• We would suggest simply calling your current insurance company for renter’s insurance on your apartment.

Car insurance

• There are only two American companies that we have found to insure drivers in Italy:
  • USAA – for military families
  • Geico – save 15%!
• Being insured with USAA and Geico depends on keeping a valid US driver’s license, so make sure to not let it lapse, and have a plan for renewal, even if you also have your Italian driver’s license.
• You can be insured also by Italian insurance companies, but of course, you will speaking with them primarily in Italian, so keep that in mind as you are deciding which company you will choose.
• Also, be prepared for your rates to jump. Insurance companies will look at you as a brand new driver again, now that you are in Italy and learning to drive in a new system.

Life insurance

• Get your life insurance up to date while still in the US. We have not found that it is easy to be newly insured while living overseas given the health examinations and other checks that the company may want you to perform prior to insuring you.