Your insurance certificate is the international proof that your car is insured. This document is also referred to as the insurance certificate.
It includes, among other things:
Your policy number
The validity of your car insurance
The countries in which the vehicle is insured
The registration number to which the insurance applies
Various emergency numbers you can call in the event of damage
With this card, you always have all important details relating to your insurance at hand. If you take out car insurance digitally, you will receive an email with your international insurance certificate as a PDF file. Of course, you can still choose to print the insurance certificate. If you cannot open the PDF, you can download the latest version of Adobe Reader.
Insurance certificate not mandatory
Although it is useful to carry the insurance certificate with you when you are on the road, this is not mandatory in the Netherlands and most European countries. Based on your registration number, the police, including abroad, can see whether and where your vehicle is insured.
Travelling abroad
On your insurance certificate under coverage areas, you can see in which countries your car insurance is valid. Are you travelling to one of the following countries:
Turkey
Morocco
North Macedonia
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Moldova
Israel
Tunisia
Ukraine
Montenegro
Republic of Serbia
Iran
Russia
Belarus
Then it is mandatory to have the insurance certificate with you on paper. Are you planning to travel to one of these countries? If so, request an original insurance certificate in good time via your intermediary.
Digital insurance certificate
The digital insurance certificate has several advantages:
Fast
You receive the insurance certificate immediately after taking out your car insurance.
Always at hand
If you lose the insurance certificate, you can always find it again in your email or in the place where you saved it. You can also keep the document with you on your smartphone.
Environmentally conscious
By sending the insurance certificate by email instead of by post, we save paper.
Validity
Both the digital and the paper version of the insurance certificate are valid for one year. Are you travelling again next year to a country where a paper insurance certificate is mandatory? Then you must print or request a paper version again.
Exceptions
Insurance certificates that are valid for Cyprus only provide cover in the parts of Cyprus governed by the government of the Republic of Cyprus. In that part of Cyprus, you do not need a paper insurance certificate. Insurance certificates that are valid for Serbia only provide cover in the geographical parts of Serbia governed by the government of Serbia. In that part of Serbia, you do need a paper insurance certificate. In countries or parts of countries where the insurance certificate is not valid, you must take out a separate border insurance policy.