Our Europe Trip – The green Insurance Card, Bureaucracy & AA Ireland

We are awaiting the postman eagerly today because today we should receive our green Insurance card. This is recommended within the EU if you travel with your car to countries outside the EU. As Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina have not joined yet – we need it for travelling or we will have to cancel the family meeting my father organized near Zagreb, Croatia and our visitto Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
I have ordered the green Insurance card before we left Ireland however the AA Ireland did not manage to send it in time. I asked if they kindly could send it to my parent’s address in Germany and that was no problem. So with having in mind that there was a bank holiday in Ireland at Monday, today should be the day. I called already a few times to make sure the address is correct so the post arrives at the right place and it was confirmed; everything is alright…… we thought.

Postman was here but no post for me. I called again the AA Ireland as I am insured through them with Zurich Insurance whereby the AA acts in this case as a broker. Cut a long story short one is blaming the other and they said they will send it today. I try everything to get that card any faster and call even the German outlet of Zurich Insurance but although they were helpful – they couldn’t help me.

Oh my. That does not agree with my initial travel plans. I wanted to avoid the Autobahn and drive a more scenic route southwards to Austria which we will cross on the way to Croatia. Now we have to wait until Friday as the post usually takes 2 days from Ireland to Germany.

When I was calling AA Ireland the next day – just to make sure everything went as they told me – I got a very unfriendly response that everything will go to plan as I have been told already several times! Excuse my custom!

I am very upset and if it would be just me I would have simply chanced it driving to both countries just without that card. You only need this in case you have an accident. But travelling with a Toddler and knowing my luck…. We need this card.

To Cut a long story short: the card did not arrive that Friday either. In fact they sent it to our Irish address and not to the German address as promised at least 3 times on different calls. We decide to drive towards Croatia without the card as they will join the EU 2012 and shouldn’t be that strict but it looks like will have to cancel Medjugorje as we were told that we could not pass the Bosnian border without the green insurance cards. It is just too risky!

My intention for the near future: find new car insurance and insure directly. Always cut out the middleman when possible. It’s just not worth it. I need my nerves for other things :)