"Beware those ... driving without insurance "

Texans paid about $ 861 million in premiums relating to uninsured motorist coverage in 2003. 20-30% of Texas drivers are dodging the law and could leave you holding the bag.

The following is an excerpt from a Dec. 3, 2006 Abilene Reporter News article.

By Ken Ellsworth
December 3, 2006

Texas agencies, including the Department of Public Safety, estimate that at least 20 percent of all vehicles are being driven without insurance - although the state has required minimum liability coverage since 1981.

Some officials say the percentage of uninsured drivers could be as high as 30 percent, driving up costs for vehicle owners who do have insurance.

''My phone rings constantly in the aftermath of these accidents, but some people who are involved in accidents caused by uninsured drivers are just out of luck,'' said Sgt. Doug Wrenn, commander of the Abilene Police Department's Traffic Division. ''They get stuck paying for the damages and there is very little that can be done about it. They can sue for damages, but almost everyone who drives without insurance does not have the means to pay for the damages awarded by the courts.''

Motorists are required to show proof of financial responsibility (in most cases valid insurance documentation) when renewing their drivers' licenses, having their vehicles inspected, or renewing vehicle registrations.

But many people buy minimum liability insurance with monthly premiums to obtain their inspection stickers and renew their vehicle registrations. They then cancel the policy or allow payments to lapse. They have no insurance but they do have the insurance card that says they have insurance coverage for at least the coming six months, Wrenn said.

Some drivers actually use ''counterfeit'' insurance cards.

''But we see little of that,'' Wrenn said. ''Most just cancel their policies or stop making their payments. Those people say they need the money to feed their families. If so, they are driving up the costs for the rest of us and they are driving at great risk and shouldn't be driving. They are not being responsible. We need to make it more painful not to have insurance than have it.''

Law enforcement officers have no way of immediately verifying the validity of insurance cards, said Sparky Dean, Abilene's Department of Public Safety public education officer.

''If an officer works an accident or a traffic violation and asks to see proof of insurance and the card shows validity through a future date, we have to accept it as valid,'' Dean said. ''We issue the ticket and the motorist drives away. We need to do something about it.''

Something has been done about it, but it will be at least a year before the system is in place.

In 2005, the Texas Legislature passed a bill that will set up a data network between the DPS, the Texas Department of Transportation, the Texas Department of Insurance and automobile insurance vendors. The point of the bill is to reduce the number of uninsured motorists on the road.

Ideally, the data network will give law officers the ability to nearly instantly confirm whether a driver's insurance card is valid.

It requires that insurance vendors report to the state agencies new insurance policies sold, policies canceled and policies that have been canceled due to lack of premium payments. That data would then be compared to the state's motor vehicle registrations databank with which law enforcement officers should have instant access.

The system will cost approximately $6 million the first year of implementation and about $2 million each year after, according to Jerry Hagins, a spokesman at the Texas Department of Insurance, who said it is estimated that 13 percent of all accidents involveuninsured drivers. The money to pay for the databank system comes from a $1 additional fee for vehicle registrations, Hagins said. The legislation was effective Sept. 1, 2005.

The data-based program does not change any Texas vehicle insurance requirement laws, or penalties for not being in compliance. It will merely allow law officers to quickly identify the uninsured.

''Setting this database up will be no easy task,'' said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas. ''It's complicated. It requires cooperation and networking with several state agencies and continuous updating of the data. It's difficult. Everything they're trying to do is complicated. There are 10 million drivers in the state and that's a lot of data to keep up with.''

He said the council has mixed opinions about the program.

''We wish everyone would be responsible and the state wouldn't have to mandate the purchasing of insurance. We wish everyone would want to protect themselves, their property and the lives and property of others, but some people obviously don't.''

He said the database has to work dependably, almost flawlessly.

''Errors in the data could lead to false arrests and that could be disastrous, lead to lawsuits and all the rest,'' Hanna said.

About 12 other states have implemented such programs with apparent success. Uninsured motorists have declined in some states from more than 20 percent to 6 percent or 7 percent, according to a study by the Texas comptrollers' office.

Hanna noted that at least six northeast Texas small-to-medium cities have taken a different approach to keeping the uninsured off the road. Their statues allow authorities to impound uninsured vehicles and owners are required to pay steep fees to retrieve their vehicles, in addition to paying fines of up to $250 for driving without insurance. Hanna said those cities are making progress.

''It's certainly getting people's attention,'' he said.

Basic insurance information
·   Texas laws require all vehicle owners to have liability insurance.
·  The minimum legal liability coverage is 20/40/15, or $20,000 per injured person up to $40,000 and $15,000 for property damage. This does not cover the minimum liability vehicle owner's damages in an accident. It protects the people and property injured or damaged in an accident the liability policy holder causes.
·  You must carry proof of insurance.
·  The penalty for not carrying the minimum liability is a fine between $175 and $350 for the first offense.
·  Subsequent convictions call for fines from $350 to $1,000, suspensions of drivers' licenses and impoundment of vehicles.
·  Various Texas agencies estimate 20 percent to 30 percent of drivers are uninsured.
·  Your insurance policy may protect you from uninsured drivers. If not, you can add that protection with several options. Read your policy. Ask your insurance agent about protection from uninsured or underinsured motorists.