Road fatality levels in Greece are the highest in Europe, and more Greeks admit to dangerous driving than any other Europeans. But Greece also has the continent’s highest percentage of uninsured drivers.
According to a new report by Reuters, 15% of vehicles in Greece are uninsured. And a recently passed increase in a tax on vehicle insurance – from 10% to 15% – probably won’t help matters.
“This can only be a deterrent to people insuring their vehicles,” Ioannis Votsaridis, chief executive at top Greek insurer Interlife Insurance, told Reuters. Votsaridis said the industry has already seen a huge drop in insurance in the wake of the country’s catastrophic recession. To encourage motorists to insure their vehicles, Interlife has absorbed the tax increase rather than passing it on to customers, Reuters reported.
The growing number of uninsured drivers means a growing burden on drivers who are insured. It’s also dramatically lengthening the amount of time it takes claims to be settled. Currently, drivers in Greece are waiting at least a year and a half to receive payment on insurance claims, according to Reuters.
But while laws exist that would allow the government to pinpoint uninsured drivers, those laws aren’t implemented. And many Greeks, hard-hit by the recession, say they need their vehicles to get to work, but simply cannot afford insurance, Reuters reported.
