France to end rule on insurance 'green cards'
Starting on April 1st, the green car insurance cards found in the windscreens of French vehicles will be done away and replaced by an automated system accessible to law enforcement.
Starting on April 1st, motorists in France will no longer have to show the green insurance card (carte verte), which had been a requirement for over 40 years.
From April onward, only electric scooters will need to have the physical green insurance sticker displayed.
As for all other vehicles, the proof of insurance will become digitised.
Previously, motorists risked fines of up to €35 for failing to show proof of vehicle insurance, but this penalty will only remain in place for electric scooters. Driving while uninsured is and will remain an offence.
This change follows an announcement from France's interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, who said in July that the green stickers would no longer be required.
"It will be recorded directly by insurance companies in a file accessible to police and gendarmes", the minister explained at the time.
What does this mean for motorists?
The new digital system will allow for drivers' insurance to be checked using licence plates and by verifying information in the file of insured vehicles (FAV) - which has been accessible to law enforcement since 2019. Insurance companies are required to update the register every 72 hours.
This means that drivers will no longer have any insurance paperwork to present when pulled over by police, as it will be up to the officer to consult their file using the online system.
However, if you change your insurance plan, you will need to present the Insured Vehicle Memo (Mémo Véhicule Assuré) to the police officer. This is a document that is provided by an insurer when taking out a new contract.
If your vehicle is classified as uninsured after being pulled over - whether correctly or incorrectly - you will have 45 days to appeal, either by post or online, to the National Agency for the Automated Processing of Offenses (ANTAI).
Why make the change?
A large part of the reason the government wants to do away with the paper stickers is that the electronic version via the file of insured drivers would more effective in fighting against insurance fraud, the President of France Assureurs, Françoise Lustman, told BFMTV in September 2022.
According to C News, an estimated 800,000 people drive without car insurance each year in France.
On top of that, the computerised process would also save money on printing and mailing the documents.
It costs €1.36 to print, package and send a sticker to an insured motorist. When added together, the French government would save around €60 million per year after the process is digitised.
From an environmental perspective, the process of printing the stickers also creates approximately 1,237 tonnes of CO2 each year that could be avoided via digitalisation, according to the online insurance platform Leocare.
How do you know if your car is registered on the official Fichier des véhicules assurés?
During any police check, officers will consult the official fichier des véhicules assurés, as they have done since 2019, to ensure the vehicle is properly insured.
Car owners can check that their vehicles are listed on the file, which is maintained by the Association pour la gestion des informations sur le risque en assurance, by connecting to the Fichier des véhicules assurés website, www.fva-assurance.fr, clicking the Consulter le FVA tab and following the instructions.
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Starting on April 1st, motorists in France will no longer have to show the green insurance card (carte verte), which had been a requirement for over 40 years.
From April onward, only electric scooters will need to have the physical green insurance sticker displayed.
As for all other vehicles, the proof of insurance will become digitised.
Previously, motorists risked fines of up to €35 for failing to show proof of vehicle insurance, but this penalty will only remain in place for electric scooters. Driving while uninsured is and will remain an offence.
This change follows an announcement from France's interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, who said in July that the green stickers would no longer be required.
"It will be recorded directly by insurance companies in a file accessible to police and gendarmes", the minister explained at the time.
What does this mean for motorists?
The new digital system will allow for drivers' insurance to be checked using licence plates and by verifying information in the file of insured vehicles (FAV) - which has been accessible to law enforcement since 2019. Insurance companies are required to update the register every 72 hours.
This means that drivers will no longer have any insurance paperwork to present when pulled over by police, as it will be up to the officer to consult their file using the online system.
However, if you change your insurance plan, you will need to present the Insured Vehicle Memo (Mémo Véhicule Assuré) to the police officer. This is a document that is provided by an insurer when taking out a new contract.
If your vehicle is classified as uninsured after being pulled over - whether correctly or incorrectly - you will have 45 days to appeal, either by post or online, to the National Agency for the Automated Processing of Offenses (ANTAI).
Why make the change?
A large part of the reason the government wants to do away with the paper stickers is that the electronic version via the file of insured drivers would more effective in fighting against insurance fraud, the President of France Assureurs, Françoise Lustman, told BFMTV in September 2022.
According to C News, an estimated 800,000 people drive without car insurance each year in France.
On top of that, the computerised process would also save money on printing and mailing the documents.
It costs €1.36 to print, package and send a sticker to an insured motorist. When added together, the French government would save around €60 million per year after the process is digitised.
From an environmental perspective, the process of printing the stickers also creates approximately 1,237 tonnes of CO2 each year that could be avoided via digitalisation, according to the online insurance platform Leocare.
How do you know if your car is registered on the official Fichier des véhicules assurés?
During any police check, officers will consult the official fichier des véhicules assurés, as they have done since 2019, to ensure the vehicle is properly insured.
Car owners can check that their vehicles are listed on the file, which is maintained by the Association pour la gestion des informations sur le risque en assurance, by connecting to the Fichier des véhicules assurés website, www.fva-assurance.fr, clicking the Consulter le FVA tab and following the instructions.
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