Green Card for a Car in Europe

The Green Card policy works on the same principle as Ukrainian compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, but takes into account the legislation of the country where the road accident occurred:

• If you are at fault in an accident: your Green Card policy covers damage caused to other parties involved in the accident, including other vehicles, road infrastructure, or the health and lives of injured persons. You do not pay compensation to the injured parties yourself—the insurance company does so within the coverage limits established in the country where the accident occurred. However, this policy does not cover repairs to your own vehicle. For that, you need comprehensive car insurance with international coverage.
• If you are the injured party in an accident: damage to your vehicle and compensation for injuries are covered by the at-fault foreign driver’s insurance company, in accordance with the rules of their country.

Maximum compensation amounts (insurance limits) depend on the legislation of the country where the accident occurred. In many European Union countries, limits for personal injury are unlimited or reach €5–10 million, while property damage limits range from €1 to €5 million.

When purchasing a policy through the polis24.com.ua service, you receive a guarantee that your document is registered in the unified database of the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTSBU). In the event of an insured incident, this helps ensure prompt claims settlement and legal support. Our polis24 online service operates around the clock, so you can feel confident on any road in Europe.

The Green Card is an international compulsory motor third-party liability insurance agreement for owners of land vehicles. Simply put, it is similar to Ukraine’s compulsory motor insurance policy, but its coverage extends beyond Ukraine to countries participating in the international Green Card system, which currently includes more than 40 countries, including all European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Moldova, Turkey, and others.

If you plan to cross the Ukrainian state border in your own or someone else’s vehicle, having this policy is strictly required by law. Without a valid Green Card certificate, the Ukrainian border service will not allow the vehicle to leave the country, while border authorities in the country of entry may impose a substantial fine.

The main purpose of the policy is to protect your financial interests abroad. If you cause a road accident in another country, the insurance company will compensate for damage caused to third parties’ property, life, or health. Without a policy, you would have to cover these expenses out of your own pocket, while insurance limits in EU countries can amount to hundreds of thousands or even millions of euros.

To ensure your trip is safe and worry-free, we recommend purchasing insurance in advance. Through the convenient polis24.com.ua service, you can calculate the cost and quickly purchase an official Green Card policy from leading Ukrainian insurers in a fully electronic format.

Call the emergency services and the police — 112 is the single emergency number across the European Union. You may only move the vehicles after an accident if it is necessary to protect the injured or to keep the road safe. Without the police’s agreement, those involved — passengers included — may leave the scene only to get first aid or to call the police.

Photograph the scene from several angles so that the damage to every vehicle can be made out. Photograph the registration plates and makes of all vehicles involved.

If you believe you are at fault, hand over one copy of your Green Card, or a copy of it. Be aware that handing over the Green Card is treated as an admission of fault. Get contact details for any witnesses before they leave. The injured parties will then approach the motor insurance bureau in their own country, which will settle the loss itself or through its representatives and afterwards recover the money from the Ukrainian insurer that issued the card.

If you are not at fault, take — or photograph — the at-fault driver’s policy details, and photograph the scene and the vehicles as described above. Again: handing over your Green Card, or information about it, is treated as admitting fault. In a disputed case, most European legal systems allow ten days to appeal a decision, and after that it becomes very hard to establish your position. Read every document carefully before you sign it.

Once back in Ukraine, report the accident to your insurer and give them everything you have, including the photographs and your own written account. State in that account that you consider yourself not at fault, and why.

Where the accident is settled without the police, the procedure differs only in that a joint two-party accident statement is drawn up and signed by both drivers. The statement records the circumstances and does not require the parties to agree on who was at fault; it may include a sketch of the scene. If you accept fault, you must show the other driver your documents and a copy of your Green Card — the Highway Code requires you to confirm your identity.

No. Only insurers belonging to the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine may issue them. Any other seller is either an intermediary for one of those insurers, or is selling you something that will not be recognised at the border. Check that the policy is entered in the MTSBU database before you travel.

You can, but it is the most expensive and least reliable way to do it. Prices at the border are higher, the choice of insurer is whoever happens to be there, and forged documents have historically been a problem in that setting. Buying green card insurance online before you set off takes 15 minutes and costs less.

No. Unlike CASCO, the price is not rated on the driver. It depends on the vehicle category, the zone you are travelling to, the term, and the euro exchange rate. This is why quotes for the same trip are similar across insurers — and why the sensible thing is to check that the seller is genuine rather than to hunt for a bargain.

Around 15 minutes online. The policy is sent to your email as a PDF and registered in the Motor Bureau database at the same time. You can buy it the night before you travel, provided the start date on the policy covers your crossing.

The vehicle registration document (technical passport), and the policyholder’s name and address — or the company’s name, if the vehicle belongs to a business. That is all. No inspection and no photographs of the car are required.

The injured party abroad claims from the motor insurance bureau of the country where the accident happened. That bureau, or its appointed representative, assesses and settles the claim locally under that country’s rules, and then recovers the amount from the Ukrainian insurer that issued your card. You do not pay the injured party yourself, and you do not deal with a foreign insurer directly. Your part is to report the accident to your own insurer on your return and hand over the documents.