Types of Insurance in Moldova: What Is Mandatory and What You Actually Need

In Moldova, insurance falls into two groups: compulsory — MTPL for drivers, the Green Card for trips abroad, and liability insurance for operators of hazardous facilities — and voluntary: CASCO, travel, health, accident, home and business insurance. The full General Asigurări catalogue brings together 13 products. Each has its own role: some protect you or your family, others your car, home or business. Below is a guide by situation.

Which types of insurance are compulsory?

Drivers are required to have MTPL insurance — it covers damage caused to others on the territory of Moldova, under Law no. 106/2022, for a standard term of 12 months.

For trips abroad with your own vehicle, the Green Card is compulsory, recognised in member states of the International Green Card Insurance System and valid only in countries whose codes are not crossed out on the certificate.

Operators of hazardous industrial facilities are required to hold liability insurance covering damage to third parties, life, health, property and the environment, under Law no. 151/2022. Every other product is voluntary — you choose it based on your situation, not because the law requires it.

Auto insurance

MTPL pays for damage caused to others; CASCO pays for your own car — collisions, theft, natural events; the Green Card is MTPL for travelling abroad. CASCO covers two risk groups — Damage (collisions, fire, natural events, unlawful acts by third parties) and Theft — with a contractual deductible subtracted from the payout, while the Green Card is valid only in countries whose codes are not crossed out on the certificate. A driver who only travels within Moldova needs MTPL; one who goes abroad adds a Green Card; anyone who wants their own vehicle protected adds CASCO, in one of three variants: Standard, Avantaj 50/50, or with the additional Accident clause.

Personal insurance

Travel medical insurance covers medical emergencies abroad, with the insured sum set by the chosen zone, and is usually required for a Schengen visa application.

Health insurance, as a separate product, currently covers foreign citizens or stateless persons in Moldova, for emergency medical costs.

Accident insurance is voluntary, class 1, and pays an indemnity for injury, disability or death — individually, for a family or for a company's employees, including through a dedicated product for drivers, for accidents that happen behind the wheel.

Property insurance

Home insurance protects a house or apartment and household belongings against fire, explosion, earthquake, burglary and water leaks, with its own deductible for each case.

Combined property insurance bundles the same cover for the home and belongings with an accident clause for the family, in pre-set sums.

Pledged property is usually insured at a bank's request, for mortgages or loans secured by collateral, against fire and natural disasters — the payout goes to the mortgage lender named as beneficiary in the policy.

Business insurance

General liability insurance covers damage accidentally caused to third parties during the declared activity, with variants for regulated professions too — notaries, bailiffs, appraisers or auditors.

CMR covers an international road carrier's liability for the goods transported, under the CMR Convention.

Agricultural insurance covers crops, agricultural machinery and livestock; for crops and livestock, the share subsidised through AIPA is usually 70%, with the farmer's own share at 30%.

How to buy each type of insurance

Three products are bought fully online, in a few minutes: MTPL, the Green Card and travel medical insurance — you choose the product, fill in the vehicle's or travellers' details, review the quote, pay by card and receive the policy by email. The full steps are described in the article How to Buy MTPL, Green Card and Travel Insurance Online.

For the other products — CASCO, health, accident, home, combined property, pledged property and business insurance — you fill in a request form, and a General Asigurări specialist gets back to you with a personalised quote calculated from your data: the value of the property or vehicle, the insured sums you want, and the risks specific to the activity or the home. The difference has nothing to do with how important the product is — it comes from the fact that each of these policies is priced individually, based on the actual risk you are insuring.

How to choose: four typical situations

• You drive within Moldova. MTPL is compulsory; add CASCO if you also want your own car protected, in one of three variants — Standard, Avantaj 50/50, or with the Accident clause.
• You're going on holiday. Travel insurance for health cover, with the insured sum set by the chosen zone; if you're driving, add a Green Card too.
• You own a home or have a mortgage. Home insurance for everyday risks; with a loan, the bank usually requires pledged-property insurance.
• You run a business. General or professional liability; for carriers, CMR; for farmers, subsidised agricultural insurance.

What to remember

1. Compulsory: MTPL (Law no. 106/2022), Green Card (travelling abroad by car), liability for operators of hazardous facilities (Law no. 151/2022).
2. Voluntary: CASCO (with a contractual deductible), travel (with territorial coverage zones), health (for foreign citizens/stateless persons), accident (individual, family, group or for drivers), home and combined property insurance, pledged property, business products.
3. MTPL, the Green Card and travel insurance are bought online; everything else is arranged through a request, with a personalised quote from a specialist.
4. Combinations are common: MTPL + CASCO for a car, travel insurance + Green Card for a road trip abroad, home + accident cover in the combined product.
5. See all products and choose based on your situation.