Insurance companies in France are lobbying the government to get rid of green car insurance stickers, along with paper insurance certificates, in a bid to reduce fraud and simplify the system.
France Assureurs (formerly the French Insurance Federation), which brings together 247 insurance companies, has been in talks with the ministries of the economy, transport and the interior for several weeks, reports Le Parisien.
Renewal of green insurance stickers
Insurance policy certificates must be stuck on the windscreen of vehicles in France since 1986. However, the stickers change each year and certify that the vehicle in question is insured.
The green insurance stickers are accompanied by a paper certificate. Thus, which must be presented if claimed by a police or gendarmerie officer (under penalty of a fine of 35 €).
But Franck Le Vallois, managing director of France Assureurs, said: “Today we have all the technical means to simplify people’s lives and improve the fight against fraud by eliminating paper vignettes. »
Replacement by a database of insured vehicles
Since 2019, law enforcement can also consult a database listing insurance vehicles. The File of insured vehicles (FVA), created in 2016.
The list contains the license plate of the vehicle. As well as the name of the insured driver, the contract number and its period of validity.
More than 60 million vehicles are listed. And companies must report any changes to the list within 72 hours.
Insurance companies now say that this list should be used before all other documents. Mr. Le Vallois said: “Its reliability is over 99%.
Removal of the sticker to make life easier for drivers
The association also says that using the list, rather than requiring green insurance stickers and paper certificates, would make life easier for drivers, as they would no longer need to change stickers every year, or carry a paper certificate in their wallet or glove compartment.
Getting rid of green insurance stickers and paper would also be an ecological gesture. Said the association, and would end the printing of more than 50 million paper documents per year.
Discussions are progressing well, the association said. Mr. Le Vallois said: “We hope that our suggestions will be taken into account. »
Pierre Chasseray, general delegate of the drivers’ association 40 Millions d’Automobilistes, told Le Parisien: “We are largely in favor of this abolition. No need for that piece of paper anymore.
When will the end of green insurance stickers end?
“It can take some time to change people’s habits. However, green insurance stickers and paper certificates are no longer useful as everything is now digital. »
However, Le Parisien hinted that any changes would take several months once enacted. Especially given the recent presidential elections.
He said: “We will at least have to wait for the appointment of the new government. In fact, before a decree could be issued and its benefits proven. »
Mr Le Vallois said insurers would give people around a year to switch to the new system. Nevertheless, if it were to be introduced.
He said: “We don’t want people to panic. And this thinking that they will not yet receive their sticker in their mailbox. »
