An updated study by Italy’s workplace accident insurer INAIL shows that workplace accidents and occupational diseases cost Italy a total of €49.2 billion in 2023, equivalent to 2.31% of gross domestic product.
Cost breakdown and the effect of fourteen years of prevention policy
The total comprises three components: around €12.5 billion in insurance costs, more than €23 billion in prevention costs, and around €13.4 billion in uninsured consequential costs. On average, an individual workplace accident costs around €33,000, while an occupational disease costs more than €61,000 per case. A comparison over the 2009-2023 period shows the tangible effect of prevention policy: recognized workplace accidents fell by 37% over those fourteen years, resulting in an estimated total cost saving of around €13.9 billion. The study stresses that investing in occupational health and safety “represents a moral duty, but also an economically convenient choice” for businesses and the country as a whole — prevention spending forms the largest cost component, which INAIL says reflects growing institutional and corporate commitment to workplace safety.
For EHS professionals worldwide, the Italian case offers a concrete, figures-based argument for justifying prevention investment to company leadership: the study directly links safety policy to economic competitiveness and the sustainability of the social security system, a rationale that holds equally in other jurisdictions.
Source: Il costo dei danni da lavoro per l’azienda Italia, September 18, 2026
