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Green Cards (or International Motor Insurance Certificates, IMICs) 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, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia and Switzerland.

The UK has now left the EU so drivers are required to carry a Green Card to prove they have valid insurance cover for their vehicle whilst driving within the EU, EEA, Andorra, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, and Switzerland.

A policyholder or any authorised individual on the account.

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.

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

A Green Card should be requested at least 6 weeks before your departure date, but we recommend you to process your request as soon as you know the dates that you intend to travel.

You need to take the same action as you would in the UK: stop safely at the scene, take everyone’s details, observe the scene and make notes – and contact us as soon as possible. You need to ask for the insurance details of the other drivers and gather as much evidence as possible about what happened, including taking pictures.

Please note if you have an accident whilst outside the UK and don’t have a Green Card or it has expired, your policy will not cover you.

Through the Green Card scheme, the UK has well-established relationships with motor insurers in each EU country to facilitate the settlement of claims for any incidents involving cross-border drivers.

UK residents involved in a road accident need to make a claim against either the driver or the insurer in the EU/EEA country where the accident happened. This could mean making the claim in the local language.

In the event of an accident in an EU/EEA country caused by an uninsured or an untraced driver, UK residents might not receive compensation. This will vary from country to country.

Please visit the government website for more information.

You won’t be able to use the existing pet passport scheme. Instead, you’ll need to follow a new process which takes approximately 4 months – so you need to be prepared well ahead of time. Please visit the government website for more information about the new pet travel scheme.

You must carry a Green Card or you could be accused of driving without insurance and be subject to a fine, having your vehicle seized, or prosecution.

If you have an accident whilst outside the UK and don’t have a Green Card or it has expired then your policy will not cover you. This means you need to prepare for any trip well in advance.

The only other legal option to a Green Card, 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