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Does German car insurance cover you abroad?

In short

Yes, across geographical Europe and in EU territories outside Europe such as the Canary Islands, liability, partial and comprehensive cover apply without an add-on. The Green Card is free and mandatory in eight countries such as Turkey, Morocco and Albania. The real gap is when you are the victim, because the other side pays under local law. Cover for that costs about EUR 10 to 30 a year.

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Does German car insurance cover you abroad?

What it costs

Publicly quoted costs for the foreign travel add-ons of German motor insurance, 2026.

Example	Typical range
Green Card from your own insurer	EUR 0
Foreign claims cover as an add-on	about EUR 10 to 30 a year
Foreign claims cover in some policies	up to about EUR 50 a year
Breakdown cover with services abroad as an add-on	about EUR 10 to 30 a year
Rental car liability top up, if not included	about EUR 8 to 20 a year

Guide values as of September 2026 from publicly quoted prices. The price of the rental car liability top up is a guide value from our quoting practice, because we could not confirm it in a fixed source. Many policies already include these add-ons; we check that in the quote. The one year rule for foreign registered cars comes from German registration law, your local registration office decides your case.

Worked example

Family with their own car in Croatia and a rental car in Mallorca

Two trips a year. This is what it costs to close the typical gaps abroad if the policy includes none of them.

Green Card	not needed, otherwise EUR 0
Foreign claims cover	about EUR 10 to 30
Breakdown cover with repatriation from abroad	about EUR 10 to 30
Rental car liability top up	about EUR 8 to 20

Together about EUR 28 to 80 a year. If the add-ons are already in the policy, nothing extra. Guide values.

Where your policy applies automatically

Under the model terms of the German insurance association (GDV), which almost all insurers adopt, liability, partial cover (Teilkasko), comprehensive cover (Vollkasko) and breakdown cover (Schutzbrief) apply within the geographical borders of Europe. EU territories outside Europe are included too, such as the Canary Islands, Madeira or the Azores. For a drive to Italy, Croatia, France, Norway or Switzerland you do not need anything extra.

In liability the better of two things applies: what the visited country requires, but at least the cover of your German policy. If you cause an accident abroad, you are protected by your high German sums insured.

Region	Liability	Partial and comprehensive	Green Card
EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, United Kingdom	applies	applies	not needed, the number plate is enough
Canary Islands, Madeira, Azores	applies	applies	not needed
Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova	applies	applies, because in Europe	mandatory
Ukraine	applies	war damage excluded, clarify beforehand	mandatory
Turkey, European part	applies	applies	mandatory
Turkey, Asian part, Morocco, Tunisia, Azerbaijan	with Green Card	only by agreement	mandatory
Russia, Belarus	not through the Green Card	clarify beforehand	no longer valid there, border insurance needed

The Green Card

The Green Card is now called the International Motor Insurance Card and proves your liability cover. It costs nothing, your insurer issues it on request, often as a PDF to print. It no longer has to be green.

It is mandatory in Albania, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Moldova, North Macedonia, Tunisia, Turkey and Ukraine. Without it you have to buy border insurance there. Russia and Belarus left the system in June 2023, Iran has been suspended since January 2024. Even where it is not mandatory, it helps the police and the other party after an accident.

Driving home for the holidays

Many expats drive their German registered car to their home country for holidays. Within Europe that is covered like any other trip. If home is outside Europe, such as Turkey beyond the Bosporus or North Africa, ask your insurer in writing to extend partial and comprehensive cover before you go.

The reverse case matters too. If you move to Germany with a car registered abroad, it may only be used here temporarily, for at most one year, and only as long as its regular base is not in Germany. Once the car is based here because you live here, it has to be registered in Germany. Your foreign insurance does not replace German registration and insurance for a car that lives here. When you leave Germany for good, the car usually has to be registered and insured in your new country.

The real gap: you are the victim

If someone hits your car abroad, their insurer pays under the law and minimum sums of that country. In some countries of Eastern Europe and the Balkans these sums are far below the German ones, in Ukraine for example around EUR 25,000 for property damage. Compensation for pain, loss of use or expert fees is also paid more sparingly in many countries.

Foreign claims cover closes this gap: your own insurer settles the claim as if it had happened in Germany and recovers the money from the other side. It usually applies in Europe and for trips up to a fixed length, often twelve weeks in a row. It does not touch your no-claims class, because you were not at fault.

Within the EU there is another route even without this add-on. Every EU motor liability insurer has a claims representative in Germany, whose name you get from the central call service of German motor insurers (Zentralruf der Autoversicherer). You then negotiate in Germany, but still only receive what the law of the accident country allows.

Rental cars on holiday

Your own motor policy only covers your car. In a rental car you are liable through the rental company's insurance, and abroad that often has only the local minimum sum. The rental car liability top up (Mallorca-Police) raises this liability to the level of your German policy. It is already included in many motor policies and some personal liability policies.

It does not cover damage to the rental car itself. For that you need comprehensive cover from the rental company, ideally with no or a small deductible.

Step by step

Check your destination and route: are all countries in geographical Europe or the EU?
Look in your documents whether foreign claims cover, rental car top up and breakdown cover are included.
Request the Green Card for Turkey, Albania, North Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Morocco, Tunisia or Azerbaijan.
For trips outside Europe, have partial and comprehensive cover extended in writing.
Put the European accident report and the breakdown number in the glove box.

Checklist

Green Card printed if a country on the mandatory list is on the route
Foreign claims cover in the policy or as an add-on
Rental car liability top up if you rent cars abroad
Cover for destinations outside Europe confirmed in writing
European accident report in the car
Breakdown cover with repatriation of the car from abroad

Common mistakes

Assuming comprehensive cover applies automatically in Morocco or the Asian part of Turkey
Driving to Turkey without a Green Card and buying expensive cover at the border
Signing a document in a foreign language you do not understand after an accident that was not your fault
Relying on the rental company's minimum cover abroad
Keeping a foreign registered car in Germany long after moving here

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Do I need a Green Card for Croatia or Italy?

No. In the EU, Switzerland, Norway and the United Kingdom the number plate is enough. Taking it along does no harm.

Does my comprehensive cover apply in Turkey?

In the European part yes, in the Asian part only if agreed with your insurer beforehand. Liability applies there with the Green Card.

Does an accident abroad affect my no-claims class?

Yes, if your insurer pays from liability or comprehensive cover, just as in Germany. Foreign claims cover does not affect it, because it only applies when the other side is at fault.

Can I keep driving my car with foreign plates in Germany?

Only temporarily, for at most one year and only while the car is not based here. Once it is based at your German home, it has to be registered and insured in Germany.

What do I do after an accident abroad?

Secure the scene, take photos, note name, plate and insurer of the other side and fill in the European accident report. Always call the police if anyone is hurt. Then inform your insurer, within one week at the latest.

How long may I stay abroad with my car?

The model terms set no fixed limit for liability and comprehensive cover. Foreign claims cover often only applies to trips of up to twelve weeks, and if you move abroad the car usually has to be registered there.

Does breakdown cover help abroad?

Yes, that is where it is most valuable: depending on the policy it pays for towing, a rental car, hotel and bringing your car back to Germany.