The federation of insurers wants to abolish the paper insurance certificate to simplify the life of users, fight against fraud and support the ecological transition. Called card, sticker, badge or even butterfly, but always green, it has occupied the right corner of the windscreen of French motorists for more than 70 years. Not for a very long time according to information from MoneyVox.
And if it was the end of a long adventure? Almost 75 years after its appearance on the windshield of motorists to fight against car insurance default, the green macaron which summarizes each year the main information of the subscribed contract should disappear. A revolution for million French people for whom the auto insurance contract is compulsory. On behalf of 247 insurance companies, France Assureurs (FA, former French Insurance Federation) explains that it wants to simplify life for policyholders by removing the certificate of insurance in the form of a sticker and its certificate today materialized by the green card.
Another deploy argument: the fight against fraud. Uninsured people would no longer be able to hide behind valid certificates, but which concern terminated contracts, or use false documents obtained fraudulently. Finally, this removal of the macaroon would serve the ecological transition since around 50 million documents would no longer need to be printed or sent every year.
The insurers have been working on the abolition of the green card for several years. Today, our discussions with the public authorities lead us to believe that the project is on the right track, explains France Assureurs MoneyVox. The Ministers of the Interior and Transport, approached by MoneyVox, did not respond. Nevertheless, it will probably be necessary to wait for the election of a future majority after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron, which rejects the September 2022 project, at best.
Use of the Insured Vehicle File
Instead of the thumbnail, FA offers to use the File of Insured Vehicles (FVA), created in 2016 and shared since 2019 with law enforcement. This file, which today includes 56 million vehicles with insurance guarantees registered almost in real time (subscription, modification, termination) according to the FA, is fed by all the insurers. It lists the registration of the vehicle, the name of the insurer and the number of the insurance contract and its period of validity.
Indeed, insurance companies must communicate the information provided within 72 hours of subscription or termination motor vehicle liability coverage.
France, a European exception
France is one of the last countries to require its nationals to present paper documents. For example, Germany has abolished this format since 2008. Such documents are not necessary to circulate within the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland. In all the countries concerned, the license plate alone is worth presumption of insurance, argues France Assureurs.
At the same time, the European motor insurance directive now allows the control of the insurance of the vehicle in circulation, outside its country of origin, by consulting the FVA for vehicles registered in France.
Longer roadside checks
This removal of the card is not a necessity but we will do it without opposition, comments to MoneyVox the general delegate of the association 40Millions of motorists, Pierre Chasseray. On the other hand, the argument does not convince the consumer defense association Consumption Housing Living Environment (CLCV). We wonder about the risk of error in this file and the impossibility for the insured to prove his good faith in such a situation, insists Olivier Gayraud, CLCV lawyer, recalling that the lack of insurance is heavily sanctioned.
Protect your companion thanks to our pet insurance comparator
Contacted by MoneyVox, the national gendarmerie explains thata mobile application allows law enforcement to consult the file of insured vehicles. Simply, during a check, the green butterfly allows you to see the situation of the vehicle at a glance. The checks could thus take longer in the event of the removal of the green card.
On condition of anonymity, an officer confirmed the limits of such a decision. He makes it known that the bugs during the consultation of the FVA are daily. In his eyes, the green card provides quick and direct information when a vehicle is parked on the public highway. What facilitate the speed of controls.
A saving in the end for the insurers?
Consulted by MoneyVox, the main insurers are behind the proposal of France Assureurs, without making further comments. Only a newcomer to the market welcomes this desire to dematerialization and simplification of administrative procedures. When Flitter was launched, we were so focused on our 100% digital offer that we minimized the logistical weight of this green card, admits Hajer Gorgi, one of the three founders. Above all, this expectation of the badge creates unnecessary tension among our customers and limits the change of insurance.
While waiting for its eventual end, the precious sesame remains edited by the French Central Office and meets very specific standards in order to respect the format and type of paper used. Its price is not foreign either to the request of insurers to put an end to the macaroon: 300euros for around 1000 stickers. A theoretical saving of 17 million euros based on the 56 million vehicles on the French market. Under wraps, insurers let it be known that they would benefit their customers by lowering the amount of the auto insurance premium.
Car insurance: save money
Driving without insurance: what are the risks?
More than 65,000 offenses for lack of insurance were observed in 2020 according to the National Interministerial Road Safety Observatory (ONISR). In 2018, the Compulsory Damage Insurance Guarantee Fund (FGAO) estimated that more than 750,000 cars (excluding two-wheelers), i.e. 2% of the car fleetwere traveling without insurance.
If, during a police check, the registration of your vehicle does not appear in the file of insured vehicles, you may be fined for non-insurance. By law, driving without insurance is an offense punishable by fine of 3750 euros which may be accompanied by additional penalties such as the suspension or cancellation of the licence, with a ban on retaking it for a maximum of 3 years and the confiscation of the vehicle.