This gesture that all motorists make at least once a year is destined to disappear in the coming days.
New developments keep coming in the world of automobiles, and not just in terms of car models. The move towards all-digital technology will change the habits of many motorists in the short and medium term. Since February 14, 2024, driving license holders have been able to dematerialize their piece of pink paper, which is destined to completely disappear in 2033. The gray card will soon follow the same path. And we have known for several months that the insurance certificate will also soon no longer be physical, which is sure to disrupt the routine of millions of motorists.
Every year, a few days before the annual renewal of the insurance contract, each driver receives their insurance certificate and certificate by mail. The small sticker (the certificate) must be detached to affix it to the windshield of the vehicle. Formerly hexagonal in shape, today square, this badge allows law enforcement to check the validity of the contract at a glance. It contains the name of the insurance company, the contract number and the period it covers. Larger, the certificate, often intended to sleep in the glove box, also includes the main information of the contract, in particular its validity date and the name of the model of the insured vehicle.
But in a few days, no one will get their car insurance from their mailbox. Don’t be surprised, this won’t mean your insurance company has forgotten about you. The dematerialization of the green sticker is fast approaching since it will be effective on 1er April 2024. From this date, proof that a vehicle benefits from insurance will be provided by consulting the Insured Vehicle File (FVA), which will compile all automobile insurance contracts on French territory. It is with the help of this file that the police will be able to carry out their checks.
This reform was adopted to simplify the administrative life of the French as well as that of automobile insurers. The latter spent on average 60 million euros each year to print just over 50 million documents for their customers. France is only following a movement already established in many European countries. This dematerialization should allow certain motorists, perhaps the most airheaded, to avoid being fined for having forgotten to change their sticker on the windshield of their car or having “lost” their certificate . This failure to present is punishable for a few more days by a fine of 35 euros.