HISTORY OF THE GREENCARD SYSTEM

In 1949, the Road Transport Group of the Inland Transport Committee of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe sent a recommendation to member countries' governments. They requested that insurers provide a unified and practical insurance agreement to cover damages to third parties caused by motor vehicles. This would apply to insured individuals entering countries where motor vehicle liability insurance is mandatory.

The Working Group concluded that a standardized insurance document would be the best way to achieve this goal. The legal framework would be formed through agreements between insurers from different countries.

In response to the recommendation, insurance representatives from the agreeing countries accepted the Inter-Bureaux Agreement in November 1951. This initiated the process among different country insurers.

Content of UN Recommendation No. 5 and Subsequent Agreements:

Each European country would establish a central organization called a Bureau, authorized by its government to perform the duties of a Green Card Bureau. These bureaus are grouped under a central organization, the Council of Bureaux, which was originally based in London (now in Brussels).

The Bureaux has two functions:

Through its members, it provides insured individuals with Green Card insurance certificates and guarantees compensation for damages caused by its insured parties through settlement and compensation Bureaux.
  
It handles and compensates damages resulting from traffic accidents involving foreign-plated vehicles with a valid Green Card insurance certificate within the legal rules and conditions of the country where the accident occurred.

Bureaux that are part of the system must mutually sign the standardized agreement prepared by the Council of Bureaux, known as the Uniform Agreement. Due to numerous changes in recent years, this agreement is now called the Internal Regulation.

An additional improvement was made with the Multilateral Guarantee Agreement dated 15.03.1991. Under this agreement, license plates of motor vehicles from participating countries serve as substitutes for the Green Card. Hence, this agreement is also known as the License Plate Agreement. In this case, the Payment Bureau is responsible for any damages caused by a vehicle from its country in the agreement's participating countries, even without a valid Green Card insurance certificate. (Turkey is not included in this License Plate Agreement.)

COUNCIL OF BUREAUX (COB):

COB, based in Brussels, is responsible for the operation and management of the Green Card System.

COB consists of Bureaux from all countries participating in the Green Card System and is linked to the Road Transport Working Group of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The Council of Bureaux takes all necessary actions and initiatives to ensure the successful implementation of UN Recommendation No. 5 and monitors compliance with the agreements.