Is Travel Insurance Available for Driving outside of the EU?

There are many thousands of people who travel abroad each year, most go via plane, and then hire a car whilst on holiday. If you do travel to places such as Bulgaria which alongside Romania is classed as an EU accession state, you car insurer may not provide you with insurance cover which is available under, what is known as the ‘Green Card’ system. The ‘Green Card’ system is usually used in places such as Turkey, Morocco, Romania and Bulgaria.

If you do like to take your car abroad, then it is imperative that you check with your car insurer as to whether or not you are covered via insurance for the countries which you intend on visiting. Some insurance companies will offer you this insurance automatically, whilst others will expect a further insurance premium before travel commences. Other car insurance companies may even decline you the insurance (although if this does happen it is worth checking out, as by law all car insurance companies should offer you the basic third party insurance cover).

So which companies would I find this cover with?

There are lots of different companies online who offer this sort of cover, and if they doe not offer it you as standard, then they will be happy to add this on to your premium.

What is a Green Card?

It is basically a document which is recognised by all the countries in Europe which amounts to 40 countries in total. The card itself does not offer insurance cover, it is just proof that the driver is insured on their own motor policy by a third party insurance cover.

Which countries require the Green Card?

•   Andorra and Austria
•   Belgium and Bulgaria
•   Croatia, Cyprus and Czech Republic
•   Denmark
•   Estonia
•   Finland and France
•   Germany and Greece
•   Hungary, Iceland, Ireland and Italy
•   Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg
•   Malta, Netherlands and Norway
•   Poland, Portugal and Romania
•   Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland

A good place to find out more about the ‘Green Card’ is on the directgov website, where you can get a concise list of the countries which need a green card and those countries which don’t.

If you are still unsure as to whether or not you would be eligible to drive within the EU, then visit your insurers website or give them a call to clarify the whys and wherefores.