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Green Cards are an international certificate of insurance issued by insurance providers in the UK. They’re used to verify that the motorist has the necessary third-party motor insurance cover for driving in the country being travelled to.

Green Cards are guaranteed through agreements between the countries that issue them. With this agreement the driver’s insurer will honour any claims made against the policyholder for incidents taking place while they’re driving within the EU, EEA, Andorra, Serbia and Switzerland.

Under existing EU law (pre-Brexit), vehicles from countries that are part of the European motor insurance ‘free circulation zone’ can drive in the EU without carrying paper documents. All EU countries are automatically part of the ‘free circulation zone’, but non-EU countries must apply to be part of this system.

After Brexit UK might not be part of the ‘free circulation zone’ anymore. In this scenario, drivers would need to carry a Green Card document to prove they have valid insurance cover for their vehicle.

If this becomes a requirement, you’d be breaking the law. You could be accused of driving without insurance and be subject to a fine, having your vehicle seized or prosecution.

The only other legal option would be to purchase insurance locally when you arrive in the country (often known as ‘frontier insurance’). However, such insurance cover might not be widely available and could be more expensive than UK-issued policies so it’s better to utilise the Green Card that is recognised in all EU countries.

A policyholder or a named driver on your policy.

No. As long as the individual is listed as a Named Driver on your insurance policy, one Green Card detailing all insured drivers will be sufficient.

You need to contact the customer service centre on 0330 022 1000, Live Chat or email service@drivelikeagirl.com. Make sure you have your policy details (preferably your policy number) to hand as well as the dates that you’ll be travelling so that the advisers can easily process your request, posted to an address of your choosing.

Not at the moment, but the Council of Bureaux (COB) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are considering the possibility of digitalising Green Cards.

No, we don’t charge for Green Card requests.

We’re now issuing Green Cards. This means you can prepare your travel for the period extending the Brexit date.

Due to the remaining uncertainty, we suggest you add in further two days to the validity period.

You can request a Green Card at any point so it’s best to do this as soon as you know your travel dates – we suggest you make the request at least 14 days before departure.