Brexit and green card update to Members (Dominic Clayden, CEO)

26 November 2018

Dear Colleagues,

I am writing to members to give you an update on green cards and Brexit following my message to you of 5 October. In my last message I highlighted the increasingly significant risk that insurers may need to issue green cards in high numbers from 29 March 2019 if the UK were to leave the EU without a deal. As I’m sure you are aware, exiting the EU without a deal would mean that there is no transitional period in place until the end of 2020, creating a strong likelihood of border checks at the external EU border, including a requirement for green cards to be produced as proof of motor insurance.

We are very conscious of the issues this space may be causing you.  We are working closely with the Council of Bureaux (CoB) who have confirmed that in some countries it has become common practice for insurers to send green cards to policyholders electronically in PDF form. Policyholders can then print out the green card themselves. At present, the format for the green card, which is regulated by the United Nations, requires that the printed green card must be green and therefore cannot be printed in black and white.

The CoB are exploring with the UN whether the requirement for the green card to be green in colour can be changed, but they stress that this is a work in progress. I will continue to update you on this, but reiterate that at present the printed document must be green. Nevertheless, I hope that the option to send a PDF version of the green card is helpful for your planning.  

We have arranged a meeting with the CoB to include the ABI and BIBA to provide an opportunity to ask questions about the format of green cards. We are also producing a ‘Green Card Q&A’ document for members and will be arranging further Brexit-related stakeholder events for insurers in January.

Regards

Dominic Clayden

Chief Executive