Car Insurance - Turning Tuscan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Going Native - page 136

of coverage I'm looking for and, bingo, several quotes materialize almost instantly. I pick
an attractive offer from Zurich-Connect. A few minutes later, I see a proposal in my inbox
and everything appears to be exactly the way I wanted it. Hope stirs in my breast and, if I
had any idea what the Swiss National Anthem might be, I would start singing it.
I fill out the application and email it back, accompanied by the usual array of scanned legal
documents. The following day, credit card in hand, I call to confirm that everything is in
order and close the deal. The agent explains that they need just one more thing: something
called an “ attestato di rischio ”.
The way things work in Italy, everybody starts at “Level 14” when they begin to drive.
That's the most expensive category, and every year that you drive without an accident, you
go down one level, and your insurance gets less expensive. The agent explains that to start
me off in a lower category, he will need a copy of my attestato di rischio from my current
insurance provider.
It takes a few days, but I do manage to get hold of the document that shows I haven't had
any accidents in my years with Dialogo and that I'm now down a few steps on the cost lad-
der. I forward it to Zurich-Connect and call a bit later to confirm that they now have what
they need. Well, almost, but there's still one more thing. They also need something called
an “ appendice di storna ” before they can proceed. That will allow the lower rate that I'm
paying on the Volvo to be transferred to the Renault.
“But, wait! I'm the one who has a clean, accident-free driving record. What does any of
this have to do with the car?”
I'm sure the Zurich rep is smiling. It's the car, stupid. It has nothing to do with you. It's
the car who is the safe driver, and without the appendice di storna the lower rate can't be
transferred from the old car to the new car.
I fire up Google Translate to try to understand exactly what an “ appendice di storna ” might
turn out to be. Google tells me it's an “appendix transfer”.
Whatever. Back to Dialogo: they can't send me an appendice di storna until after I have
sold my vehicle to the dealer. Once that's done, I need to send them the bill of sale along
with the original copy of my Dialogo insurance contract via registered mail, and once they
have received it and processed it, they will see that I receive my appendix transfer. (And if
it doesn't arrive, I can always call their free 800 number…)