Insurance companies and public officials have joined forces in Kentucky in an effort to eliminate uninsured motorists who buy insurance for only long enough to meet state proof of insurance requirements and then cancel their policy. After Jan. 1, 300 insurance companies will interface online with county clerks offices across the state to notify them when an insurance policy expires or is canceled.
Even if police are presented with what appears to be a valid insurance card, they will have instant access to online county records and be able to write citations for driving without insurance.
Insurance rates are driven up by uninsured motorists who only sign up for a policy for long enough to obtain their registrations and then don’t pay their premiums according to Commissioner of the Department of Vehicle Regulation Roy Mundy.
“Many times a person will have an insurance card because they’ve gone and got insured for a month,” Mundy told WAVE Channel 3 in Louisville.
Mundy says they use the card renew their car registration, “then cancel the insurance within a month. For 11 months, they are on the road uninsured.”
Behind the scenes, state officials will work to check the information and send out warnings. Violators will have 30 days to correct the problem or risk winding up in court.
State Representative Ron Crimm (R-Louisville) told Channel 3 this change represents progress towards getting uninsured drivers off the road. “This certainly is not going to keep the accident from happening, but if helps one more person get their insurance and keep it in force, then the program has done a good job.”
Equipment bought for enforcement also added a techno-perk: Motorists will soon be able to avoid the wait at the department of motor vehicles and register your car online in Kentucky.
And those lines may grow by an estimated 12 percent if everyone driving without insurance is forced to obey the law.
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