LA Law Would Allow Drivers To Have Electronic Insurance Cards

Technology has impacted how drivers buy their automobile insurance coverage. Now, drivers can purchase their coverage with the click of a mouse after comparing auto insurance quotes. Many drivers have faced issues with the fact that they have misplaced their printed out proof of insurance card. Now, the state of Louisiana is putting forth a new law called House Bill 1130.
The law is innovative because it would allow police officers to verify a person’s proof of automobile insurance coverage by smart phone or other electronic device. For example, most automobile insurance companies allow their policy holders to be able to open accounts to pay their insurance premiums online each month. Now, they can have access to their insurance cards online as well. This is incredibly convenient and will help the police have less headaches when they pull over drivers and ask them to produce their driver’s license, proof of insurance, and registration.
Drivers can still print out their automobile insurance cards and keep them in their glove compartment, center console, or wallet. One issue that could arise from this new bill is that people could be driving and be in a bad service area where their wi-fi might not work for them. This means that the electronic copy of the isnurance card may not be available at all times which can be a huge problem.
Another potential issue might be that a driver might have an electronic copy of an insurance card that is not valid any longer. For example, every six months, a driver receives a new insurance card. If the driver has not been paying their insurance premiums on time each month then their insurance policy might have been canceled. This would make police officers think that a driver has valid coverage when in fact the policy has already been canceled by the insurance company. Many insurance companies have created applications that drivers can download onto their smart phones.
Every auto insurance company wants to be able to offer their policy holders innovative products. Millions of drivers have their smart phones with them when they drive in their vehicles. It is important for drivers to understand that they should always have a hard copy of their auto insurance card just to make sure that they always have it with them at all times.
A driver can be fined for not having the proof of insurance at all times so it is an important safe guard to have in place. Other states have already passed bills similar to this one. Most auto insurance companies are in favor of this because down the road it could end up saving them a lot of money.
The state should also consider a way for officers to be able to run a person’s license plate number and find out if they are in fact insured. Many drivers try to skirt the system by just using the card. It has been hard in the past to have an updated system in place for law enforcement because there can be a lag between policy holders submitting their insurance premiums to their insurance companies and the insurance companies processing the payments and applying them to the accounts.
The two kind of have to go hand in hand down the road. When policy holders can easily download their insurance cards then there needs to be a faster way to get the information for law enforcement who need it the most. Consumers have a lot of power over the system which is why there has not been an effective system in place ever before. Some states have wanted to be able to have random insurance coverage checkpoints but they are very easy to avoid.
Many groups have stated that creating a system to electronically verify insurance coverage would be unfair if it meant that drivers would face serious fines or jail time. If politicians feel pressured to keep the system the same then no real progress will ever be made.
States need to fully comprehend the fact that they cannot mandate insurance coverage and then lack a technological system to verify that people are following the mandate that has been put in place.
People might be able to receive discounts for going paperless. It costs insurance companies a lot of money to have to send out identification cards every six months. If they can tap into this type of law then they could provide incentives to drivers for using an electronic copy alone. This would make the entire process much more convenient for insurance companies.
The bill has a lot of support and will probably be passed by the House soon. Hopefully, the measure can allow drivers to avoid some headaches when they get pulled over for speeding or a traffic stop. It will also allow drivers to have access to their documents at the DMV and other locations where it is asked for.