Two accidents caused by gas in a few days, one, the most terrible, in Sicily in Ravanusa and one in Rome due to the explosion of a cylinder. The first question that comes to mind is this: who will pay for the damages of these events? The answer is only one: the compulsory insurance policy, mandatory because it is automatically signed by the user when signing the channeled gas supply contract. The policy is aimed at the non-professional domestic user only. For the cylinders, however, nothing to do, any accident that has occurred will not be compensated for any damage. We asked the reason for this difference in treatment and how and what the compulsory insurance policy provides Antonio Guerrini, engineer, for a long time general manager of the Confindustria association of domestic and professional appliance manufacturers and one of the leading experts in the field of home security and technology.
What does this policy say that very few know?
“It is exactly a mandatory collective insurance policy for accidents from channeled gas. In fact, a withdrawal is made on the gas bill which feeds the national fund for the stipulation of the policy. The insurance is valid throughout the national territory, is activated automatically and is regulated by the Resolution of 19 May 2020 and the total annual premium per insured delivery point, including taxes, is equal to €0,45 for each of the years 2021-2022-2023-2024.”
A very small amount…
“It could even be lower since the tender for the assignment of the insurance which, I remind you, should concern about 21 million users of channeled gas, suffers a reduction as such and from 0,45 euros could be reduced up to a maximum of 20 %. The contractor is the Italian Gas Committee (CIG)”.
Who should the end user contact for compensation?
“The compilation of the accident communication is the sole responsibility of the gas transport company which must send it to the CIG within 30 days of the accident. The case of Ravanusa, being the accident attributable to the gas network, would therefore provide for a compensation intervention, in the times and ways specified by the policy, with the pool of companies (contracting insurance and reinsurance) with which the contract was stipulated".
Is compensation always due?
“Let's be clear; no connection to the gas network is made if there are no precise safety conditions. The user must follow the instructions of the company in charge of distribution which is often a municipal company. The same applies to the distribution network inside the buildings and to the connections in the individual apartments which must be done in a workmanlike manner, according to the regulations.
So if the internal gas network (condominium and apartment) has not actually been laid out and certified by a leading plant engineering company with the necessary authorisations, is the insurance not to be considered active?
"Exactly. So the user must also inform himself well about this”.
Let's take the case that a user takes over from another and "inherits" a pre-existing system. What must he do for his safety?
"You must first request the certification of the home system issued by an authorized technician".
And if irregularities were ascertained by whoever had to check?
"The fact remains that if we were in the case of non-compliance by the supervisory authorities, there would be civil and criminal implications that the judiciary would have to verify".
