It’s the end of an era. On April 1, it will no longer be mandatory to display the automobile insurance certificate on the windshield of your vehicle. If the removal of this green sticker, in force since 1986, has an “ecological” virtue, by eliminating almost 1,200 tonnes of CO2 per year according to Bercy, the Minister of the Economy presents it as a measure of “common sense which constitutes a important step in the simplification and modernization of the insurance system. Which will also make it possible to fight against fraud. What will this actually change? Le Figaro takes stock.
Until now, if a motorist did not or could not present valid proof of insurance, he faced a fine of 35 euros. And this, even if his vehicle was covered. In two weeks, the certificate will therefore be dematerialized. During an inspection, law enforcement must consult the Insured Vehicle File (FVA) which, since 2016, has brought together registration numbers, technical data of the vehicle and automobile insurance contracts.
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Concretely, the police and gendarmes will only need the number plate references to know whether a car is legal or not. Without a sticker, drivers will still have to keep an “insured memo”, the size of a credit card, in their vehicle, which must be given to them by their insurance company. It can be presented if the insurance contract was taken out less than three days before an inspection, the FVA database needing a maximum of 72 hours to be updated.
This document must also allow after-sales professionals, even non-approved bodybuilders, to have all the elements in the event of repair. It can be useful if you need to complete an amicable report in the event of an accident. Because only the form of the insurance title changes. “No rule relating to the obligation of car insurance is modified. What changes is just its justification,” argued the Minister of the Economy.