New car insurance verification program starts in January

JACKSON, Tenn. — A new program launching in the new year will start tracking uninsured Tennessee drivers.

“The new program that starts in January is an electronic insurance verification program that’s a partnership between the insurance companies and the state Tennessee Department of Revenue,” State Farm Agent Wes Harris said.

The program will ping vehicle registrations for proof of insurance coverage and then send out notices if you aren’t in compliance.

“The Tennessee Department of Revenue is going to run the VIN number of registered vehicles as reported by the insurance companies, and it is going to be an automatic system that is going to ping vehicles of those who do not have it insured,” Harris said.

Rather than checking for insurance coverage at the time of registration renewal, the system will verify insurance coverage on a continual basis throughout the year.

“We have to do something in Tennessee to get these nearly one million drivers to show some type of responsibility that they have when they are operating a vehicle,” Harris said.

If drivers fail to show proof of insurance, they could be charged with a misdemeanor and a $500 fine — and potentially registration suspension.

“Forty percent of my claims that pay out of this office come from uninsured motorist claims,” Harris said. “So I believe that if you are not responsible enough to carry at least the minimal liability limits, then you are not responsible enough to operate a vehicle.”

Officials say that in Tennessee one in five drivers is uninsured, and Tennessee ranks sixth in the nation for most uninsured drivers.