Green Card insurance for Serbia
 

Try to keep this short ... everything I read says you need extra green card doc (insurance) at the Serb border. My insurer here in UK (MCE) won't issue this, no others that I try will and web advice says you'll be stung for £100+ at the border by corrupt guards. surely it is worth some company providing these for less than £100. Any advice? Thanks

I'm pretty sure that if you have regular green card insurance (I'm guessing this is part of any policy you take out in the UK) you can get into Serbia without purchasing anything extra. If you don't have european insurance (which I didn't on my Australian registered bike) you can buy it at the border - around 25 euro for a month if I recall correctly.

we tried to cross at Vrska cuka in 2008.
even with a green card the boarder guard wanted 80e off us, we would not pay so we were sent back :confused1:

It may be best to cross at one on the Busy boarders crossing

I paid about 80 euros, but I bought insurance--it was not a case of corrupt border guards. It is not included in your EU insurance because Serbia is not EU...although they would like to be.

The Serbs are irritated about Kosovo independence, Nato bombing, international prosecution of their war criminals, and more. They have long memories. It is in an interesting place to travel, but not if you are prone to feelings of EU entitlement.

Hope that helps.

Mark

Serbian (and other Balkan) green card insurance is more complicated than most realize. Here's the situation based on actual experience June 2010.

1. Vehicles registered in most EU countries (e.g. Germany), and therefore insured domestically in those countries, 'automatically' include green card coverage for non-EU Balkan countries Croatia (HR), Bosnia (BiH), Serbia & Montenegro (SRB or SCG), Albania (AL), Macedonia (MK), etc.

2. Vehicles registered in the UK, and therefore insured by a UK underwriter, may--or may not--include Balkan coverage, depending on corporate policy of the specific UK underwriter. UK vehicle owners may be able to get that Balkan coverage for an extra fee from their UK underwriter/ broker, if it's not included in your regular policy.

3. Vehicles registered outside the EU and UK (US, Canada, AUS, etc) must of course buy a separate Green Card policy for vehicle use in Europe. Whether that separate Green Card policy includes the non-EU Balkans depends on the separate underwriter (source) of the policy:

3.1. Green Card policies brokered/ sold by
Motorcycle Express - Ship Your Bike in North America
and
TourInsure - the specialist for international automobile insurance in Europe
are both underwritten by AXA, and include non-EU Balkan countries,
but the monthly premiums are more expensive than

3.2 Green Card policies brokered/ sold by Mototouring,
How does the European Green Card Insurance work? in Milano
are underwritten by several Italian companies, and do NOT include non-EU Balkan countries;

3.3 Green Card policies brokered/ sold by Knopf
Green Card in Germany
or any office of the German auto club, ADAC - Ihr Partner in allen Fragen rund um die Mobilität. (Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club)
are underwritten by www.arisa-assur.com, and do NOT currently include non-EU Balkan countries.

If you buy a separate Green Card from Mototouring, Knopf, ADAC, or direct from Arisa, your Green Card will show the non-EU Balkan countries, including Serbia, "blocked out." In theory, that means that you must and can buy separate vehicle Green Card coverage crossing the borders into each Balkan country.

Here's where it gets (even) more complicated.

Based on actual border crossings in June 2010, using ADAC/ Arisa Green Card on US-registered bike

Leaving Slovenia, entering Croatia (HR), at small border crossing Metlika, there was no vehicle paper check, therefore no separate HR Green Card was required, but also there was no border facility/ broker to buy HR Green Card if you wanted it; experience at that small border crossing may not be the same as at the major A2 motorway crossing between Ljubljana-Zagreb.

Leaving Croatia, entering Bosnia (BiH), at major border crossing, E71 between Dubrovnik-Mostar, there was no vehicle paper check, therefore no separate BiH Green Card was required, but also there was no border facility/ broker to buy BiH Green Card if you wanted it.

Leaving Bosnia, entering Serbia (SRB or SCG), at one major border crossing, E761 between Sarajevo-Belgrade, Serb Customs denied entry of vehicle into Serbia without separately-purchased Serb Green Card, BUT Serb Green Card was not available for sale at that crossing. Serb Customs directed us to closest smaller border crossing 30 km south, where Serb Green Card was purchased--after calling private broker to come to border station--for minimum one month = 60 Euros.
Note that it's possible--unknown--that Serb Green Card can be purchased at other major BiH-SCG crossings, Rte 19, or the A3 motorway between Zagreb-Belgrade.

Bottomline--if your non-EU Green Card is from Mototouring, Knopf, ADAC, Arisa, etc. you'll very likely have to pay an extra 60 Euros to enter/ drive through Serbia. That may still be cheaper than the higher premium charged by AXA-underwritten non-EU Green Cards (that include Serbia), but you also have to consider the extra hassle/ time lost in Serb border crossing purchase.

All that begs a separate question: if Croatia and Bosnia are not covered by a particular underwriter's Green Card, and you're "supposed" to get it at the border, BUT it's not available at the border, how do you get it, and what happens if you're libel for a 3rd party injury/ accident in those countries ?

Driving in the Balkan Countries UK plates
 

HI

If you insure your car with the following Insurance Companies they will Include all the Balkan Countries ( Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia) in the Green Card, however if you want a Fully Comprehensive cover you have to pay extra depending on how long you plan on staying.

Firstalternative.com
ESURE.com
Sheilaswheels.com
Sainsburys.com
I think its Halifax.co.uk but not 100% sure
Please note all the mentioned companies are underwritten by Sansburys Insurace.

For 30 days based on a Mercedes C-class 220 CDI it cost ne £60.

Hope this helps

Some good news for those driving to Serbia: since January 1, 2012, as per the Multilateral Agreement signed with EEA member states, Serbia is a member of the International Motor Insurance Green Card System under section III.

What does this mean for you? From that day, anyone having an insurance policy from any EU state (+ Andorra, Croatia, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland) can travel to Serbia without needing the Green card itself. The national vehicle registration plate substitutes the green card. The same applies to Serbian drivers going to EU + above states.

Under the Multilateral agreement, insurers from the above countries MUST provide insurance to Serbia. It is no longer optional for the insurer to provide coverage for Serbia, but an obligation.

The insurance coverage for Serbia (identified as SRB) does not apply to the region of Kosovo/UMNIK (UN resolution 1244).

From January 1, 2012, Montenegro has become a member of the Green card system. It is identified as MNE. The green card policy with code SRB no longer applies to Montenegro. If traveling to Montenegro, you DO need the green card, and you MUST check with your insurer if they cover your trip to Montenegro or not.

That sounds like good news.

But, could you cite a source that says the Green Card rules/ situation with Serbia has really changed from 01/01/2012, compared to what it has been ?

The European Green Card system is administered by the "Council of Bureaux,"
Council Of Bureaux › Members date of entry
According to that website, Serbia has been a "member" of the system under section III, since 1954, not from 01/01/2012.

Serbia has (already, for a number of years) been included on the Green Card document of policies issued by insurance companies in the EU, for vehicles registered/ plated in EU countries.

But not necessarily for policies issued by companies in the UK, for vehicles registered/ plated in the UK. That's been by decision of each UK underwriter.

And not usually or necessarily for policies issued by companies in the EU, for
vehicles registered/ plated outside the EU, e.g. US, Canada.

Up through 2011, all EU-national plated vehicles have (already) been able to enter Serbia without paying for additional Serbia border cover; some UK-plated vehicles have also been able to, some not, depending on their UK underwriter; and most non-EU plated vehicles have had to buy separate Serbia cover at the border, even if they already have a Green Card issued by a EU-based underwriter.

So, please cite a source that shows there is an actual change in the Serbia Green Card situation as of 01/01/2012.
Many thanks.

No problem with independent reliable confirmation. I travel to Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia i Hercegovina 4 times a year from the UK

From the UK Government:
Serbia travel advice

From Serbian Motor Club / Insurance Bureaux:
Zelena karta osiguranja

Bosnia i Hercegovina, Montenegro & Kosovo are still a problem.

Bosnia issue 'border insurance' for 21 days at a cost of approx €36

Hope this helps.

Iceweasel. :cool:

Thanks, Iceweasel.

Those two sources certainly confirm that effective from 01/01/2012, Serbia
is supposed to recognize insurance coverage for vehicles with registration/ plates from 33 European countries, including the UK, without the driver presenting a separate Green Card document, when crossing into Serbia.

BUT, as noted in earlier posts, there's still some ambiguity.
The UK FCO website:
Serbia travel advice
says, specifically (with respect to UK registered vehicles)
"European green card vehicle insurance is now valid in Serbia. However, the requirement to hold a green card is no longer in effect from 1 January 2012. You are advised to confirm that your insurance company recognises that your policy covers Serbia.

That would suggest that the UK FCO recognizes that not all UK vehicle insurance policies for UK registered vehicles necessarily cover Serbia; that may still depend on the specific UK insurance underwriter.

Similarly, it's still ambiguous/ uncertain that non-Euro registered vehicles, e.g. from the US, Canada, OZ, etc, with temporary Euro Green Card policies issued by European companies, are covered under this "new" Serbia agreement; that may also still depend on the specific EU underwriter. As of 2011, those temporary EU Green Card policies from ADAC/ Arisa, MotoTouring/ Italian UTI, etc, did not cover Serbia, and those vehicles still had to buy separate Serbia border coverage at an additional minimum monthly cost of
about 60 Euros.

This appears to be a "transition" year; it remains to be seen whether all UK underwriters will recognize the Serbia change, and whether all EU companies writing temporary Green Card policies will also include Serbia going forward in 2012.:confused1:

In August 2011 they stung me for 47 euro for 5 days! I guess it depends we're you enter.

doh

Hi,

This is an interesting point.

I asked my insurance company if they cover me in Croatia, they said no.

However... On the bottom of the document in several languages there is a statement that reads words to the effect of saying that the policy provides the minimum required insurance (third party) in countries acting under European directives.

So in my case, it did cover me for Croatia. But the insurance company (broker) Adrian flux did not understand that. So in my opinion I believe at the moment I am covered also for Serbia.

Thoughts?

I should get a copy of the section on here later.

Dan

I have been following this post with some interest as Serbia is a possible for us this year. Spoke to My insurance company here in the UK, Carol Nash. They will insure me for Serbia and Croatia at an extra charge. But are not able to cover for the other FYR countries, so it looks like it may have to be border post premiums for us. Bonus is that my renewal is due in April, so may have to ask that question of the competition.

Hi Crapxxxx,

Remember Carole Nash are a broker, rather than an insurance company, so they will (or should) scan their partner companies for an insurer that will cover you. Of course, they may not have a partner that will do so. When I passed through Serbia in 2006 they couldn't cover me and I had to pay the exhorbitant insurance premium. This year, they can't cover me for Russia, so I'll get that at the border.

On the upside I've always found Carole Nash excellent and they are good to have on your side if something goes wrong abroad. I had to use their European Breakdown cover twice for total disintigration of a rear tyre (once in Italy, once in Hungary - the moral - don't overload TKC80s they can't deal with it!), both pretty painless experiences. I just phoned the appropriate number in the UK and they sorted everything out.

They also sorted me out with a hire car when I carefully placed my bike in a ditch on the Trollstigvein in Norway and arranged to have my bike shipped home. That went pretty smoothly too.

You don't get the lowest prices from them, but I continue to use them due to the good experiences I've had.

Cheers,

Matt

Hi Matt

So you paid in Serbia, did you pass through any other of the ex-Yougoslav states?
We are looking to come across from Romania toward the Adriatic, but I am keen to slip into Kosovo en-route as well.

rob

You can buy insurance on most boarders in those countries. The prices vary wildly thou... I paid over 100 euro for Serbia.

What we did is got a lady at a hotel we happened to go into at a vineyard in Croatia to right us a note! It read something along the lines of "sir, needs a green card insurance". Really helped us at the border!also got a few laughs......

Dan

We [wife n i] went through and stayed in Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Hertzogovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Serbia again and through to Bulgaria with just the green card from Carole Nash. I did tell them i was going there first tho. Oh and Turkey. In 2009.

Hi Rob,

The only other ex-yugo states I've been through are Croatia and Slovenia, in 2009. No problems with green card insurance in either.

Matt

I'm reading that suggestion as saying that all _must_ (by law), but not all of them _realise_ they must, so prod 'em. I've just pointed my own insurer (a Swinton brand) to that page, and asked them to confirm that they do. They're currently refusing all Balkan countries bar RO/BG (EU) and HR (Green Card), hence me finding this thread, from a campsite in Puglia, heading towards the boat for Albania!

I'll let you all know what we find when we get to the various borders, if we decide that it's not all too much of a headache. In the meantime, I'm also awaiting a reply from another UK broker (Herts Insurance) who seem to offer short-term travellers policies.
https://www.hertsinsurance.com/walkabout.php
Anybody any experience with them or others?

<edit: Update - Forget them, they'll only cover Morocco/Tunisia/Turkey/Croatia + EU>

Because we don't know how much time we'll want to spend in which countries, it'd be preferable for us to not have to worry about the borders, and get a single policy that covers all. I can definitely confirm the bit about other EU countries having no such issues - our Austrian neighbours at this site were utterly bewildered that we should even need to think about it, and checked their own (standard issue) Green Card. Only a couple of "definitely dodgies" were crossed out. Iran, f'rinstance. Can't think why. We're just back from Tunisia - we bought local cover there, from a random high-st broker in Tunis, three months for ~€100. Cheers, and may your travels be good 'uns.

<edit: Updates beyond these points are the reality as we cross borders>
Albania - As we returned to the van on the car deck of the Brindisi-Vlora ferry, ready to disembark at 7am on a Sunday, we were approached by a man who asked (in English, after a few other attempts) if we had insurance. 15 days - €27, 30 days - €51. Official looking sheet of A4, badly scrawled details. 30 day premium given on sheet as €44... As we exited the boat, then port, there were several other similar vendors and an office branded with the same logo.

Macedonia - The southern Lake Ohrid road crossing (Tushemisht) does NOT have any insurance sales facility - and the border guards WILL ask for your Green Card. If you don't have one, you WILL be refused entry. Don't ask how we know this... The northern Lake Ohrid road crossing (Qafë Thanë) does have, just on the inside of the border. You'll need to leave your passports with the police, park between police & customs, and walk through. €50 for 15 days. Euro or Macedonian Denar cash only. No Albanian Lek, no plastic. There is no cashpoint here to get Denars.

Montenegro - The Vladimir/Sukobin border crossing west of Lake Shkodra accepted our SRB (Montenegro included) green card without any question, despite it having been issued in May 2012 according to the pre-Feb 2012 country list, and being a colour-print of an emailed PDF rather than an original. There didn't appear to be an insurance sales office on the Montenegrin side of the border, but there were several for Albania on that side.

Croatia - We have a green card. The border crossing south of Dubrovnik was utterly painless. If you do not have a green card, there was a phone number on a piece of paper in the customs hut window. No cash machines.

Bosnia - The border crossing NW of Bihac was incredibly laid back. Croatian customs wanted to see our V5 on leaving, but the Bosnians weren't bothered on entering. We had no green card, and had to ask about insurance. They looked surprised, but pointed us to the freight management company hut just inside the border. We were pointed from office to office until we found somebody who would sell us insurance. He could only offer 16 days cover. Initially, he asked for €122 for motorhome price. We thought this very high, and showed him our old VW. He then charged us €32 (58KM) car price, without any further discussion or argument. Euro cash, Bosnian KM (no cash machine) or Croatian Kuna (at normal exchange rate, no premium) all acceptable.

We have heard of others who were quoted, at a different border and for a bigger motorhome, €75/14 days or €55/5 days. We have also heard of somebody paying €25/3 days for a car. I think they make it up as they go along...

After a total refusal from Swinton - I escalated it to the actual insurer, Allianz.

FINALLY, I've just today received this...

:D

Thanks for the update Adrian.

I take it Swinton are the brokers for Allianz?

Enjoy your trip.

Dan

[QUOTE=danward79;378116]I take it Swinton are the brokers for Allianz?[/quote[

Yes, they are.

Even better, though - they've decided to email us a Green Card anyway, since the policy paperwork doesn't mention Serbia. And, guess what...? The note accompanying the SRB box explicitly includes Montenegro.

Woo, and a side order of Hoo.

Oh, don't you worry about that... <grin> :funmeteryes:

Macedonia was great, but we're firmly in love with Albania, especially the south. We're taking the Komani river ferry probably Wednesday, before heading to Montenegro by the weekend. Looks like the road to Theth might be a bit ambitious for our 2wd van, but we'll have a look-see, just in case it's doable.

Just a quick update here, I just paid 50E at the Bulgarian border crossing of Delsevo this morning.

A bit annoyed for 15 days when Turkey cost me 15E for 90days, no wonder there are bugger all tourists here.

Also just had the worst meal of my travel life in Vesel, hopefully tomorrow picks up a notch or I just wasted a tank of fuel!

Cheers
TS

The printed PDF green card was accepted without any problem at the Montenegrin border, despite having the pre-Feb 2012 SRB (includes MNE) country list, rather than the current separate MNE.

We couldn't get to Theth - the road's closed as you approach the top of the pass climbing up from Boge - there's too much snow still, even for off-road bikes or 4x4s.

Unsatisfacory situation
 

For what it's worth, I have just driven from the UK to Belgrade and back. Prior to leaving I searched high and low for insurance in the UK that would cover me in Serbia.
My current insurer (Admiral) didn't cover me. The only way to do it would have been to cancel my current insurance and take out a new policy with somebody like RSA but this wouldn't have made economical sense as my whole family are on Admiral's Multi Car policy. I even considered taking out an additional policy with the intention of cancelling when we got back; but this I was told was not allowed. So we set off with the intention of buying what I expected to be a fairly worthless, third party policy at the border for an exorbitant sum just in order to stay on the right side of the law.
However when we reached the border (near Lipovac) where we have bought insurance in the past, the authorities assured us that, as of Jan 1st 2012 we were covered by our UK policy, so there was nothing to worry about.
My wife who speaks fluent Serbian could not get them to understand that we were not covered and that we would like to purchase Serbian insurance. He told us that this was no longer necessary or possible as the facility did not exist at the border anymore.
So the outcome was, we had a very nervous week driving around Serbia knowing we were uninsured. Something they would no doubt have been happy to point out to us in the event of a claim...... If I had caused a serious accident, the consequences in a country like that don't bear thinking about. We breathed a heavy sigh of relief when we were back in Croatia!
The only solution I can suggest to this very unsatisfactory situation is to plan well ahead and change your UK insurance, when it comes up for renewal, to one of the few companies who will cover you in Serbia - even then, you will have complications if you go too far south in the vicinity of Kosovo.

Green Card from UK Insurance
 

This is a little off topic, but I've just moved to England from Netherlands.
I have 3rd party bike insurance thru MCE and I asked them how I get a Green Card.
They say they don't issue one and I don't need it.
My policy serves.

Is that right??

My Dutch insurance automatically sent me a Green Card.

UK insurance is VERY expensive compared to Dutch too.

Alan

Welcome to rip-off Britain.

Don't know if this will help anyone from the Uk, I have just recieved a green card from AXA ins, no problems and no extra cost.

Dave,

RAC Insurance
 

In case it's of help to anyone (this thread has been to me!) I'm with RAC motorcycle insurance, run by Devitt insurance and underwritten by Red Equity. As part of the insurance document it says, in a numbe rof languages, that the insurance document is now used instead of a green card. Further, I've just rung them and confirmed with both them and Red Equity that I'm covered for Serbia (but unfortunately not for Bosnia H or Montenegro).

I'm now with BMW Motorrad Insurance thru Devitt Insurance, underwritten by Allianz Insurance.
I jumped from MCE who were very expensive.
The BMW insurance is to a large part much cheaper because there's no broker's fee.

I asked about the Green Card and they say they will only do a selective one: you have to tell them in advance, there's a daily charge for it, and it only lasts a max of 90 days. And not all countries are covered: for instance not Russia.

So if you are looking at taking a big trip that includes Turkey or Russia it's probably worth changing companies. I think it could be quite pricey to buy 3rd party insurance at the Russian border for a foreign bike (but maybe I'm wrong).

Green Card at Serbian Border (from Croatia)
 

We crossed into Serbia today, from Croatia, on the main motorway (E70).

The border was very painless. Didn't ask for V5 or anything, just passports.

My insurer (Elephant) doesn't cover Serbia, so I needed to buy a green card (though you could quite happily drive through uninsured if you wanted to take the risk - they did not check my documents).

On the Serbian side of the border, there are a load of booths on the right hand side, which mostly do foreign exchange, but a couple offer green cards.

These cost a princely sum of €110 for a car (must be in cash) for one month of cover (the minimum you can take), and take about 10-15 mins to obtain, though do look official, and though I haven't tried to claim on it, I'm relatively confident that it's real.

A fortune, but I guess saved me 7 hours in fuel from driving around Hungary and Romania to get to Bulgaria...

Archival Note:

More up to date information (as of summer 2014) about insurance prices and availability in the countries of former Yugoslavia can be found at this discussion:

Balkans Insurance - Here's the story, with details & sample documents.

The prices shown there are for motorcycles.

Michael