Driving Abroad from Turkey: Car Insurance Checklist Before You Go

Driving your own car abroad offers freedom and flexibility — and for expats living in Istanbul, a road trip home or across Europe is a popular option. But policies valid in Turkey may not work the same way once you cross the border. Insurance for a road trip abroad is not solved by one document: damage your car causes to others, damage to your own car and the passengers’ medical costs each need to be considered. This checklist gathers the insurance items to check before you set off.

1. Green Card: compulsory motor insurance abroad

The compulsory traffic insurance you bought in Turkey is not valid abroad. The Green Card is the compulsory motor third-party insurance valid in member countries of the Green Card system, covering damage your car causes to third parties there. Before you go, check:

• Are all countries you will visit and pass through in transit covered?
• Does the policy period cover the whole trip, including your return date?
• Do the vehicle details match the ruhsat (vehicle registration) exactly?
• Is a printed copy, or the required format, in the car?

For valid countries and transit routes, see our English guide on Green Card valid countries and the transit trap. For our service, visit the Green Card insurance in Maslak page.

2. Kasko: do you have cover abroad?

The Green Card only pays the other side’s damage; for your own car you need to look at your kasko (comprehensive motor insurance). Many kasko policies are valid only within Turkey. Some include cover for certain countries as standard or as an add-on. Check:

• whether your kasko is valid abroad and which countries it covers,
• whether cover abroad has a time limit,
• where repairs are done and how payment works after damage abroad,
• whether roadside assistance and towing are provided abroad,
• what process applies if the car is stolen abroad.

If your kasko has no cover abroad, discuss add-on options with your adviser before the trip; see our comprehensive car insurance (kasko) in Maslak page. With a leased or company car, the situation is different: clarify whether the owning company permits travel abroad and who arranges the Green Card and kasko. Uncertainty here can cost serious time at the border or after damage.

3. Travel health insurance for passengers

The car’s insurance does not pay passengers’ medical costs abroad, and these can be high. Arranging travel health insurance for everyone in the car is a wise step. For Schengen countries, travel health insurance is already required for visa applications. Make sure the policy covers the whole trip and every country on the route, and check how emergency treatment, hospital stays and medical transport are covered. If the trip might run longer, find out in advance how to extend the policy. Routes often change on road trips, so a slightly wider geographic scope than planned can help.

4. Documents and practical preparation

• vehicle registration and driving licence,
• a notarised power of attorney if the car is not yours, which may be asked for at the border,
• copies of the Green Card, kasko and travel health policies,
• insurers’ assistance and claim contact details abroad,
• a blank accident report form; ask your adviser about the international form used abroad.

Foreign residents should also carry their passport and residence permit. Traffic rules and required in-car equipment vary by country, so check current information from official sources before travelling.

If you have an accident abroad

• Make the scene safe and call local emergency services if anyone is hurt.
• Photograph the scene, the cars and the plates.
• Take the other party’s identity, vehicle and insurance details; share your Green Card details.
• Before signing a document in a language you do not understand, try to find out what it says.
• Call your insurer’s assistance line or your adviser as soon as possible.

A claim abroad follows the rules of the country where it happened and the procedures of the relevant insurance bodies, so the information and documents collected at the scene are decisive when the file is settled after you return.

5. Final check the day before

Check the start and end dates of all policies one last time. If your route changed, check new countries are covered. Save photos of the policies on your phone and share them with someone close to you. To plan the Green Card, kasko cover abroad and travel health insurance in one go, call us on +90 530 375 89 61 or send a message on WhatsApp — our team offers English support. Our office is in Maslak Atatürk Oto Sanayi Sitesi.