RH clients are required to request a Green Card if they intend to take their insured vehicle outside of the United Kingdom under the terms of the Brexit Agreement with the European Union.

The motor insurance coverage offered by RH remains the same and as stated within the policy wording. A Green Card can be requested at any time during your policy term, however, we would request a minimum of 48 hours’ notice and will be issued by email to you, the RH client, directly; unless otherwise requested by post. If requesting by post, please provide a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice.

The current requirements for Green Cards are as follows:

  • must be supported with a valid Certificate of Insurance
  • must be presented in hard copy format (printed)
  • can be printed on A4 green or white paper with black ink
  • must cover the period of travel

A Green Card is an international certificate of insurance, which guarantees that the motorist has the necessary third party insurance cover. These certificates prove that you are suitably insured to drive in EU/EEA countries and replaces the current European disclosures held on the back of Certificates of Motor Insurance.

No, a physical copy of a Green Card on plain A4 white or green paper is needed when travelling, as digital copies are not currently accepted. If you arrive at the border without a physical Green Card on plain white or green paper, you will not be allowed to drive in that country. RH is permitted to share a Green Card with policyholders in an electronic format, however, to be accepted at international borders they must be printed.

No, we will not charge to issue Green Cards to our clients.

You are advised to contact RH to request a Green Card if you’re travelling outside the UK in your insured vehicle from the 31st December 2020. We would request a minimum of 48 hours’ notice to issue the Green Card by email (downloadable via a link contained in the email so that you can print a physical copy of the Green Card) to you directly; unless otherwise requested by post. If you require a copy by post, please provide a minimum of 2 weeks’ notice.

Please note the Green Card this must be printed on A4 plain white or green paper to be valid and effective dates of cover must be within the period of insurance shown on your Certificate of Insurance.

The Green Card will be emailed to you within 48 hours of receiving your request unless otherwise requested by post. If you have not received by email within 3 working days or post within 5 working days, you should contact us on 0333 043 3911.

If you are travelling outside the UK after the Brexit transition with your vehicle, then the countries covered automatically by the Green Card are as follows:

EU Countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain & Sweden

EEA Countries: Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Serbia and Switzerland

For travel to Gibraltar, please refer to the specific question further down in these FAQs.

Yes.  Under the EU Commission definition of Gibraltar, it is included under the United Kingdom as is the Channel Islands and Isle of Man. However, from the 31st December 2020, Gibraltar will no longer be under the current definition in our policy wordings under foreign use for the United Kingdom or EU. So for policy coverage to be granted we will need to endorse the policy with an extension of the United Kingdom definition and then support this with a Green Card.

The Green Card will only cover countries in the EEA, Andorra, Serbia and Switzerland as permitted currently within your RH policy (where applicable). If additional countries are required then a request will need to be made to rh@ers.com stating the country that you wish to visit.

RH will continue to offer the extension to policy coverage within the EU and EEA as permitted. Please refer to the policy wording for the level of insurance cover and length of time permitted for any visit. However, going forward it will need to be supported by the issuance of a Green Card alongside a valid Certificate of Insurance.

It will be illegal to drive abroad without a valid Green Card from 31st December 2020. Motorists may be prosecuted, face penalties/fines, or have their vehicle seized.

If your policy is due for renewal during the period of travel, you will be required to obtain two Green Cards - one for each RH policy period. The Green Card must align to the dates shown on your Certificate of Insurance. If you change insurer, you should ask both RH and your new insurer to provide a Green Card relating to the period of travel in EU.

UK registered vehicles will need to display a GB sticker when driving in any of the EU countries, though you do not need to display a GB sticker to drive in the Republic of Ireland (as stated on the UK Government website).

Drivers currently only need the GB sticker if the insured vehicle does not have a blue EU registration plate that displays the GB initials; unless you travel to Spain, Cyprus or Malta and a GB sticker is required regardless of the registration plate.

No, unfortunately this is not permitted.

In some EU member states the requirement for towing vehicles is that a separate green card is needed. However, horseboxes/caravans with a load weight of 3,500kg will need their own registration plate from the DVLA (under the 1968 Vienna Convention). For further details you should refer to Department for Transport.