Coach Roberto Mancini had warned in the week that "simply being Inter" was not enough to ensure success and that his side would need to put in more effort than their opponents to reap the rewards.
And the former Manchester City boss could have few complaints on Saturday, as a bright start in each half yielded two unanswered goals.
Inter's first came courtesy of Mauro Icardi – returning from suspension – although Verona felt play should have been halted for an injury to Panagiotis Tachtsidis on the edge of the box.
Verona pushed for a leveller but lacked quality in the final third, and Rodrigo Palacio finished from close range three minutes into the second half to give Mancini's side breathing space.
Luca Toni saw a late penalty saved by Samir Handanovic - who has kept out six of the last seven spot-kicks he has faced in Serie A - and Verona's evening went from bad to worse when Vangelis Moras scored an own goal in stoppage time.
Victory for Inter moved them above Milan and Genoa into eighth, although their city rivals are yet to play this weekend.
A Tachtsidis slip in the build-up had left the midfielder stricken on the edge of the box, but Inter played on and Palacio's cross deflected off Eros Pisano into the path of Icardi, who applied a simple finish.
It did not take long for Mancini's men to make amends after the interval, though, as an incisive counter-attack ended with Palacio poking home from an Icardi cross.
Mounir Obbadi unleashed a shot that squirmed through a host of Inter defenders to be punched away by Handanovic, who then rose to his feet to deny Moras seconds later.
That squandered opportunity looked set to be punished when Verona were awarded a penalty with 14 minutes left to play - Vidic somewhat harshly penalised for a coming together with Javier Saviola.
However, Toni saw his effort expertly saved by spot-kick specialist Handanovic and Verona’s misery was compounded by a late own goal from Moras, who turned in a Danilo D’Ambrosio cross.
