Britons face holiday red tape without Brexit deal - trade body CEO

LONDON (Reuters) - Britons going on holiday in the European Union next year will need to pay more for travel insurance and get documentation to take their cars to the continent without a strong Brexit transition deal, the head of Britain's insurance trade body said on Friday.

Britain and the EU could agree a "provisional" deal next week on a post-Brexit transition period, a senior Brussels diplomat said on Friday, stressing that this will only happen if London and the bloc resolve all divorce matters first.

The bloc says it would give Britain a status-quo adaptation phase only if the two sides clear up all disagreements related to Britain's withdrawal.

"There are issues here that affect millions of insurance customers that ... need some significant progress next week," Huw Evans, director general of the Association of British Insurers, told Reuters by phone.

He said the cost of travel insurance policies will rise if Britons are no longer eligible for a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) after March 2019, when Britain leaves the EU.

The EHIC card gives holders access to emergency healthcare in any European Economic Area country or Switzerland on the same basis as local residents.

If Britain doesn't maintain current rights during a transition deal, Britons taking motoring trips to Europe will need to apply to their insurers for a "green card", an international certificate to show their cars are adequately insured.

Commercial vehicles will also need to be covered by a green card.

Applying for the card "would involve huge amounts of hassle", Evans said.

(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)