Starting October 4, 2026, compulsory motor third-party liability insurance (OSAGO) in Moldova will most likely become more expensive, while the "Green Card" for passenger car owners traveling to most European countries will become cheaper. The National Bank raised the base premium for domestic compulsory auto liability insurance by 13%—from 1,257 to 1,420 lei—but at the same time reduced the estimated cost of the "Green Card" for passenger cars in Zone 3 by nearly 10%. This zone includes countries in the "Green Card" system, except for Ukraine, for which a separate zone has been established; the Moldovan "Green Card" is not valid in Russia or Belarus. For trips to Ukraine, on the other hand, insurance is becoming approximately by 14% more expensive.
This latest increase comes less than a year after the NBM moved in the opposite direction. Effective November 25, 2025, the base premium for compulsory motor third-party liability insurance (OSAGO) was reduced from 1,467 to 1,257 lei—an immediate drop of 14.3%. Now it is being raised by 13%, to 1,420 lei. Thus, the NBM is reversing most of last year's reduction, although the new base rate remains 47 lei—or approximately 3.2%—lower than the level in effect prior to November 2025.
There is a perfectly understandable rationale behind this reversal. In 2025, the average actual cost of compulsory auto liability insurance did indeed decline significantly—from 1,448.9 to 1,254.7 lei, or by 13.4%. At the same time, however, insurers' payouts for domestic MTPL insurance rose by 28.3%—to 625.2 million lei. The average cost of a single insurance claim increased by 8.8%—to 21,800 lei. In other words, motorists paid less for insurance on average, while the cost of claims for insurance companies rose.
At the beginning of 2026, this gap persisted. In the first quarter, the average premium for domestic compulsory auto liability insurance rose by 7.1% over a year—to 1,407.2 lei. However, insurers' payouts increased much more sharply—by 30.5%, to 180.7 million lei—and the average claim amount rose by another 9.6%, to 22,400 lei.
Against this backdrop, the increase in the calculation base to 1,420 lei no longer appears to be merely another price adjustment, but rather a partial reversal following last year's rather sharp decline in MTPL insurance costs.
However, 1,420 lei is not a new uniform insurance price. Following the partial liberalization of the market, the cost of an identical MTPL policy is no longer required to be the same across all insurers. Companies calculate their own premiums based, among other things, on the risks in their insurance portfolios, using the NBM's uniform methodology and taking into account the established reference levels. Therefore, even for identical vehicles and policyholders, offers from different companies may vary.
In addition, the price of a specific MTPL policy depends on the vehicle, its place of registration, the policyholder's age and driving experience, the bonus-malus insurance history, and other factors.
For example, the territorial coefficient for Chișinău, Hîncești, Orhei, Strășeni, Ialoveni, Anenii Noi, and Criuleni is 1.35, whereas for other localities it is 0.71. If, for simplicity's sake, we apply only this coefficient to the new base, the amounts would be approximately 1,917 and 1,008 lei, respectively. This is not yet the policy price—other parameters are not taken into account here—but the example clearly illustrates how much the final cost can depend even on where the vehicle is registered.
Therefore, a 13% increase in the base premium does not mean that every MTPL policy will automatically increase by exactly 13%. But the direction of the change is clear: the calculation basis is rising, which means that for a significant portion of drivers, insurance will most likely become more expensive.
The situation with the "Green Card" is almost the exact opposite. For Zone 3, the annual base premium remains at 336 euros. However, the NBM is adjusting the coefficients for certain vehicle categories. As a result, the estimated annual premium for a passenger car will decrease from 349.44 to 315.84 euros—a reduction of 33.60 euros, or 9.6%. A 15-day policy will cost an estimated 31.58 euros instead of 34.94 euros. For motorcycles, the estimated annual cost is also decreasing—by approximately 7%.
For commercial vehicles, the trend is the opposite. For vehicles weighing up to 3.5 tons, the estimated annual premium in Zone 3 increases from 1,068.48 to 1,159.20 euros—an increase of 8.5%. For trucks and tractor-trailers weighing over 3.5 tons, it rises from 540.96 to 584.64 euros, or by 8.1%.
Insurance for passenger vehicles is rising even more sharply: for vehicles with a capacity of up to 17 seats—from 668.64 to 813.12 euros, a jump of 21.6%, and for vehicles with a capacity of more than 17 seats—from 1,092 to 1,266.72 euros, or by 16%.
A separate Zone 1 applies to Ukraine. Here, for passenger car owners, all standard insurance terms are increasing in price by approximately 14%. For a 15-day policy, the estimated premium rises from 1.74 to 1.99 euros; for a one-month policy, from 2.32 to 2.66 euros; for three months—from 4.65 to 5.31 euros, and for a year—from 11.62 to 13.28 euros. In absolute terms, the difference is small, since the insurance itself for Ukraine is significantly cheaper than a Zone 3 policy.
As a result, a single decision by the NBM has completely different consequences for different drivers. A passenger car owner who drives primarily in Moldova will most likely pay more for compulsory motor third-party liability insurance. That same driver, when traveling to most European countries, will obtain a cheaper "Green Card." Traveling to Ukraine will become slightly more expensive. For international freight and passenger carriers, however, the changes mainly mean additional costs.
The National Bank of Moldova (NBM) calculates insurance benchmarks based on long-term statistics on losses and expenses, and the coefficients are intended to reflect differences in risk between categories of vehicles and policyholders. Therefore, the current revision is significant not only because of changes to a few rates. It shows how the model of mandatory auto insurance itself is gradually changing: the price is looking less and less like a uniform rate for everyone and is increasingly dependent on the specific risk and the insurer.
So far, the result of this transition for the domestic compulsory auto insurance market is quite evident. Last year, the base premium was reduced by 14.3%, after which the actual average cost of a policy decreased significantly, while insurers' payouts increased. Now, the NBM is reversing nearly three-quarters of that reduction in lei. It has not yet reached the previous level of 1,467 lei, but the trend has already shifted: less than a year after the reduction, CMTPL premiums are once again on the rise. // 26.08.2026 - InfoMarket.