Mandatory Auto Insurance

[WA_Vol]

You've forgotten the part about your family member not notifying the state of insurance change or the fact that they ignored their cancelled license notification. To actually get in trouble for cancelled license, one has to know it is cancelled. Might be a pain to get car back and go to court, but could easily be precluded with just a modicum of diligence in the insurance change process.

Well I contacted the governor's office and a member of his staff personally called my family member and apologized and helped get the law changed. Not only that the police officer went to court and had everything thrown out.

So your "modicum of diligence in the insurance change process" isn't necessary anymore because when you renew your policy with another company they now send that information to the DMV to prevent this from happening. Before they didn't, they only sent DMV the information when the policy wasn't renewed.

It varies from state to state though.

 

[WA_Vol]

They just started keeping a database in Georgia about 2 years ago. It has actually worked pretty well. The only downside is when somebody superimposes a digit in the 17 digit VIN#. The state always sends a notice though to allow time to show proof of insurance before suspending a license.

IMO insurance companies should never have gotten in the business of notifying the DMV when a policy is not renewed or cancelled unti that system was in place. All they did is create a new set of problems.

 

[GAVol]

IMO insurance companies should never have gotten in the business of notifying the DMV

That's not what happened though. Insurance companies didn't just get in the business of contacting the DMV just for the heck of it. It was mandated by law that they do so. They can't get a filing approved unless they agree to do so.

Glad your state finally got it's act together though and went electronic with the info. It saves a lot of headaches.