You may think that this is as simple an option as yes or no, but do you envisage travelling to Europe in your van, either as a result of your business or hopping across on Eurostar to pick up the beer for the works Christmas do? Ah – hadn’t thought of that last one, had you?
If the answer’s categorically no, then you definitely do not need the extra EU road travel van insurance that adding the Green Card onto your policy gives. Saying that, this is definitely one of those ancillaries that some van insurance providers automatically include to their base policy, which could make the question whether you want it or not mute, all depending upon the particulars of your policy.
This is an important bolt-on, though, if you know your business will take you to Europe and you need your van insuring for driving on their roads (and good luck with that!). Should you be discovered without green card cover, the penalties can be harsh.
As we said, as EU travel is now so common, some van insurance brokers will supply you with a European certificate even if you don’t ask for one when you first take out your policy, or renew it if they’ve only just adopted the practise.
For those companies yet to provide Green Card certification automatically, they still may have provisos in place to which you need to adhere, so it is worth checking with them if you have a trip across the channel planned to the EU member states or European countries who are not yet members – if you’re not sure, check with your van insurance provider, and, whilst you’re on, double-check how long you are permitted to stay under their cover! They may still need informing before you travel to get your document ready and they are perfectly within their rights to charge if that is what is agreed on your van insurance document.
So, that’s it for our little vancillaries mini-series; we hope you found it useful. Many of the things covered van drivers can tend to overlook, only realising they’re without an aspect of cover when they come to claim for it on their policy! Let’s hope these seven articles have cleared up a few of those myths and raised your confidence about what you do and don’t need as extras to your van insurance policy.
If one or more of those aspects are important to you, please remember to highlight them when you process your appliation for cheap van insurance using our online form.