Italy: the RUI register, 30 hours of training a year and a strong agency network

Italy is an example of a market where the agency network remains the main sales channel in non-life insurance, and the national regulator IVASS requires more of intermediaries than the EU minimum standards.

The RUI register: sections A, B, E

All intermediaries are entered in the single RUI register maintained by IVASS. According to the regulator's annual report, as of 31 December 2025 it contained 228,925 entries (−0.9% year on year). The main sections are:

• Section A: agents, acting on behalf of or on the instructions of one or more insurers: 25,121 entries, including 8,303 agency companies and 16,818 individuals.
• Section B: brokers, acting on the client's instructions without authority to represent the insurer: 5,821 entries (+1% year on year).
• Section E: staff and sub-agents, working outside the intermediary's premises, including employees: 192,984 entries. They act under the full responsibility of the intermediary they work for.

In addition, the register lists banks and financial intermediaries (section D, 379) and 4,279 intermediaries from other EEA countries.

Training: above the European minimum

IVASS Regulation No. 40 of 2 August 2018 on insurance distribution establishes:

• initial training of at least 60 hours within the 12 months before registration or starting work;
• annual professional development of at least 30 hours, whereas the IDD requires 15.

Training for section E staff and sub-agents is organised by intermediaries from sections A, B and D or by insurers. Registration in sections A and B requires passing the IVASS exam. IVASS Measure (provvedimento) No. 165 of 2 December 2025 provides for two exam sessions in 2026.

Recent changes to sales rules

• IVASS Measure No. 163 of 25 November 2025 amended Regulations No. 40 and No. 41. Intermediaries and insurers must inform clients in pre-contractual documents how to apply to the Insurance Arbitrator (Arbitro Assicurativo). This out-of-court dispute resolution body began operating on 15 January 2026.
• IVASS Measure No. 169 of 15 January 2026 implements the "right to be forgotten" for cancer survivors under Law No. 193/2023. Distributors are prohibited from collecting information about past cancer if treatment ended without relapse. A clause on this right has been added to questionnaires and insurance terms. Documents had to be updated by 12 February 2026.

Market structure

According to ANIA data for 2025, agents collected 72.3% of premiums in non-life insurance and 83.0% in motor insurance. Banks and the post office (9.8%) overtook brokers (9.7%) for the first time.

The brokers' association AIBA points out that a significant share of broker premiums passes through agencies and is not visible in insurers' statistics. By its estimate, the real share of brokers in non-life insurance is about 34.8%.

In life insurance, banks and the post office lead (56.7%), with agents accounting for 13.3%.

For Kazakh agents, the Italian experience shows how a strong agency network coexists with strict training requirements and the intermediary's personal responsibility for its network of sub-agents.