For forty years, motorists have become accustomed each year to put on the windshield of their vehicle a new green sticker certifying that they are well insured. However, this ritual could well disappear, as Bruno Le Maire, the Minister of the Economy, said after a meeting with insurers. However, the decision should not be made before next year. “We are working with the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, to remove this small green sticker that you have to stick behind your windshield and which shows that you are well insured”, according to his remarks reported by Les Echos.
In reality, the removal of this paper badge would be replaced by a dematerialized system. Indeed, for months, the federation of insurance companies has been campaigning for checks to be carried out from the file of insured vehicles. Thus, during checks, the simple reading of the license plate should make it possible to know whether the vehicle is in order or not.
“At the time, it was rightly created to combat non-insurance. But today we have all the technical means to simplify the life of the French and improve the fight against fraud, had pleaded in May in our columns Franck Le Vallois, general manager of France Assureurs.
The file of insured vehicles, for verification
For insurers, the File of insured vehicles (FAV), founded in 2016 by companies to fight against these fraudsters who falsify insurance certificates to slip through the cracks, has been accessible since 2019 to law enforcement. And every insurance company is required to register all new insured vehicles within seventy-two hours.
“There may be, at the margin, errors in the registration of information, but nothing prevents behind providing a certificate of insurance to settle the dispute. The reliability is more than 99%, continued Franck Le Vallois, adding: “It is in any case more reliable than a simple visual check which cannot determine whether it is a fake or Nope… “
Still according to the insurers, this system would offer greater “simplicity” for users. According to them, motorists would no longer be forced to travel with the insurance certificate in the glove box or wallet, at the risk, otherwise, of being fined 35 euros. However, this point should be clarified. How, in the event of an accident, will individuals be able to know if the vehicle of the other motorist is indeed insured?
Beyond that, this simplification would be a significant element in lowering the costs of insurers. According to the Federation of Insurance, this would avoid printing costs of around 50 million documents per year.