“Green Card” insurance documents which have been required for UK motorists in the European Union since Brexit, will no longer be required, under an agreement between the Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) and the EU Commission.
The agreement means those travailing from the UK to the EU, including those travelling from Northern Ireland to the Republic, will be able to avail of the general exemption afforded to EU-based motorists.
This exemption allows motor vehicles to travel freely between other EU countries without requiring supplementary insurance documentation.
In advance of Brexit, the MIBI had secured agreement from the UK Department of Transport that valid Irish insurance discs would be accepted as proof of insurance for Irish-registered vehicles.
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This meant that a Green Card was not required for Irish-registered vehicles going to Northern Ireland or Great Britain.
The exact date for when the new measures will take effect for UK cars travelling in Europe is expected to be announced in the coming days.
David Fitzgerald, chief executive of the MIBI said the organisation “strongly welcome confirmation from the European Commission that the UK will be admitted into the Green Card-free circulation zone.”
“From the beginning of the year any UK-registered motor vehicle which crossed the Border into the Republic was legally required to carry a Green Card. This wasn’t a sustainable situation when you consider there are an estimated 43 million cross-border vehicle trips per annum and there are approximately 25,000 people who live on one side of the border and who regularly commute to the other jurisdiction” he said.
