Green with envy

THE complaint by Mark Ellingham about the British insurance companies' Green Card system to cover continental motoring (Independent Traveller, 2 October) brought a response from James Hart of Camberley, Surrey, who spends four months a year in France, and has a Renault Espace registered there.

The annual insurance renewal notice he receives is a green form consisting of a tear-off insurance certificate for the coming year, which he fixes to the car windscreen, and a tear-off Green Card for all EC countries for the whole year. 'Everything is printed on one green form,' he says.

'Included in my premium, I receive a card entitling me to use the services of France Secours, which provides 24-hour emergency services in case of breakdown or accident. In the event of an accident in Spain, for example, I telephone, quote my number, and a bail bond is immediately forwarded by telegraph to the appropriate authorities. Think of the savings in costs if UK insurers were to adopt the same methods.

'Needless to say, the premium is also cheaper than in the UK, increasing annually from the initial year only by the index rate, without any specific loading for losses incurred by the insurers. I also do not have to pay the extortionate subscriptions charged by the motoring organisations, such as the AA or RAC, in the UK.'