international motor insurance card

The international model of the car insurance card

The purpose of the International Motor Insurance Card, or formerly known as the Green Card, is to certify that the vehicle for which it is issued has adequate third party insurance coverage when crossing borders abroad.

The International Motor Insurance Card is issued by 46 insurance bureaus in Europe and some Mediterranean countries, all affiliated to an umbrella organization, the Council of Bureaux (CoB). The Swiss National Insurance Bureau (NBI) is a member of the CoB. Because of this affiliation, it must meet the requirements set by the CoB when issuing its International Motor Insurance Cards.

The NBI has authorized its member companies to issue international motor insurance cards themselves. The insurance card must be ordered from the insurer with whom the vehicle insurance was taken out. In most cases, the insurers automatically issue an international motor insurance card after the conclusion of the insurance contract.

Green and white international car insurance card

The International Motor Insurance Card must conform to the model shown below. Certain deviations are allowed as long as the model conforms to the specifications of the CoB and the issuing company has received a “Good for Print” from the NBI General Secretariat. The International Insurance Card is only valid when printed out. Showing the insurance card on the screen of a mobile device is not permitted.

In addition, the following validity requirements must be observed:

Printout on green paper and from 01.07.2020 also on white paper (colors other than white and green are not permitted and will invalidate the insurance card)
Paper size: min. A6, max. A4
Font color black
Flawless printout (if there are streaks or other printing errors, the process must be repeated)