Motorhome insurance abroad: liability, green card, cover and claims

Motorhome insurance does not end at the border, but the details do not travel as automatically as many people assume. Liability cover, the proof you carry, what happens after a crash that was not your fault, what a breakdown package pays and what becomes of the contents of your van are separate questions, answered by separate parts of a policy. It draws on insurer, club and consumer-advice pages read in autumn 2026, and the sources mostly describe German policies and plates. It recommends no provider and quotes no premiums. It is general information, not legal or insurance advice; your policy wording and your insurer decide.

Liability and the green card

Third-party liability is the compulsory core. A promobil article says it applies in the whole EU, at least in theory, but that in practice the sums insured abroad can fall short: in Poland or Hungary, for instance, 500,000 euros often suffice, which can become a financial disaster in a serious case. It adds that many insurers cover only the EU, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Andorra, and that Turkey, Morocco or the Balkans need an extension. The ADAC product page says its liability cover follows the statutory minimum of the country visited, but at least what your contract provides. What counts is your own contract, so check before you go which countries it names.

The green card, or international insurance certificate, is proof of liability cover, not an extra cover. HUK-COBURG stresses that it covers damage you cause to others, not damage to your own vehicle. In most EU states and many other European countries the national number plate is enough as proof. ERGO, as of January 2025, lists the EEA states, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland and Serbia, and says that the United Kingdom requires the card, that Kosovo does not recognise it (a separate border policy is needed there) and that the card must be on paper. HUK-COBURG (page updated August 2026) strongly recommends the card for the United Kingdom, recommends it for Serbia, and notes that Italian authorities sometimes still ask for it after a claim. The sources therefore differ and may be out of date: check the country list before you go and carry the card if in doubt. promobil recommends requesting it at the latest four weeks before departure and checking the expiry date.

Casco, foreign-damage cover and breakdown cover

Liability pays for others, so damage to your own vehicle depends on casco cover. According to the ADAC insurance page, partial cover includes theft, fire, glass, collisions with animals, marten bites and storm or flood damage, while comprehensive cover adds accidents you cause yourself and vandalism. Whether and how this applies abroad, which excess you carry and what the sum insured is are questions for your contract: check before you go. A separate module is the foreign-damage cover. HUK-COBURG explains that after an accident that is not your fault, abroad you may receive less compensation than at home, and the module has your insurer settle under German compensation law. promobil notes that it often does not cover accidents on dirt tracks or campsites.

A breakdown package (Schutzbrief) is the next building block. According to promobil it covers breakdown help, towing and a replacement vehicle, but the maximum vehicle weight is often only 3.5 tonnes, which many motorhomes exceed, and some packages are valid for only three months, so a long trip needs a renegotiation. The same article warns that, for repatriation, the wording “medically sensible” instead of “medically necessary” can limit the claim.

Contents, theft and health

The contents of the van are a common gap. Stiftung Warentest writes that household contents insurance usually does not respond to a break-in into a motorhome unless it is extended, and points to special contents policies for motorhomes. It also reports that in 2024 eight of every 10,000 camping vehicles with casco cover in Germany were stolen, almost three times the rate for ordinary cars. The ADAC page states that, for its product, contents are not protected through the motor insurance without a separately booked contents module. Ask what counts as contents and what limits apply to valuables and bikes.

Your own health is a separate matter. According to Stiftung Warentest, the European Health Insurance Card of the statutory insurer covers only medically necessary treatment in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, with doctors contracted to the local public system, but it is not accepted in Turkey, Tunisia or Bosnia and Herzegovina, where you need a certificate of entitlement from your insurer beforehand. Statutory insurance does not pay for the transport home, so the magazine strongly advises a travel health insurance.

After an accident abroad

The European Consumer Centre Germany gives a sequence. Secure the scene and note the other driver’s name, address, insurer, policy number and plate. Photograph the scene and the vehicles, and take witnesses’ details. Call the police if anyone is injured or you cannot agree; for property damage only they do not always come abroad; with a rental car, keep proof of your call. Using the European accident report is not mandatory but eases the claim. The form does not decide who is at fault. Then report the claim to the other insurer’s representative, which the German Zentralruf der Autoversicherer can identify free of charge, and inform your own insurer. Under this procedure for accidents in another European country, the other insurer must respond or make an offer within three months of receiving the complete claim.

Trailers, seasonal plates and a checklist

For a combination with a caravan or trailer, promobil says the trailer is usually co-insured through the liability cover of the towing vehicle while on public roads. HUK-COBURG notes that, among others, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro require a separate green card for trailers. Casco and contents cover for the trailer itself depends on the contract. I found no reliable source on how seasonal plates or a lay-up affect cover abroad, so check before you go with your insurer and the registration authority.

Before you leave: check which countries your liability and casco cover name and the sums insured; request the green card early; read the weight limit and duration of the breakdown package; check contents cover and its limits; carry a paper accident report; save the insurer’s emergency number; and look at the health cover for everyone on board.

Sources

• Grüne Karte im Ausland (HUK-COBURG)
• Rund um die Grüne Karte (ERGO)
• Gilt meine Wohnmobil-Versicherung im Ausland? (promobil)
• Wohnwagen- und Wohnmobil-Versicherung (ADAC)
• Autounfall im EU-Ausland (Europäisches Verbraucherzentrum Deutschland)
• Einbruch- und Diebstahlschutz beim Campingmobil (Stiftung Warentest)
• Gewusst wie: im Urlaub zum Arzt (Stiftung Warentest)
• Anhänger-Versicherung für den Wohnwagen (promobil)