Can police tell if you have car insurance?
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Brad Larson
Licensed Insurance Agent
Brad Larson has been in the insurance industry for over 16 years. He specializes in helping clients navigate the claims process, with a particular emphasis on coverage analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah in Political Science. He also holds an Associate in Claims (AIC) and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations, as well as a Utah Property and Casual...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Jan 5, 2024
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Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider. Our partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about car insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything car insurance-related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by car insurance experts.
UPDATED: Jan 5, 2024
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident car insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We are not affiliated with any one car insurance provider and cannot guarantee quotes from any single provider. Our partnerships don’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own. To compare quotes from many different companies please enter your ZIP code on this page to use the free quote tool. The more quotes you compare, the more chances to save.
On This Page
- Most states in the U.S. now make electronic verification of your car insurance coverage status possible through your DMV
- In some states, a police officer will be able to tell if you are insured or not before they even pull you over and ask for your driver’s license, registration and insurance information
- If you try to get around the insurance requirement by carrying a fake proof of insurance card, you could get in even more trouble for falsifying your proof of insurance and lying to a police officer
- The penalties for not having the insurance you are required to carry when you are pulled over can be as severe as having your car impounded by the police
- If you want to check to make sure that you are carrying the required amount of insurance, you can check your status with the DMV or call your local insurance agent
It never pays to try to drive without the required amount of auto insurance coverage.
Now, there are even more ways available to law enforcement officers for checking whether you have the required amount of auto insurance.
If you are not insured right now, act quickly to get the insurance required in your state so that you do not get penalized.
Enter your zip code above to get FREE car insurance quotes today!
How Police Can Verify Your Current Auto Insurance Status
Whenever you sign up for an auto insurance policy you get a proof of insurance card that lists the date through which your coverage is effective.
While it may be tempting to hang onto one of these insurance certification cards even if your coverage was canceled during that policy term, police have electronic ways that they can verify your insurance status now.
States now require that auto insurance companies submit information to a database on the insurance status of each of their policyholders.
By accessing the database with information on a particular driver, police can check out the real-time insurance status of any driver.
The police can then immediately issue a fine to any driver who does not have valid auto insurance coverage.
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Consequences of Not Having Valid Car Insurance
If you are fined for not having the proper car insurance coverage that you need in your state, you are potentially looking at a wide spectrum of penalties.
There will almost certainly be a violation on your driving record that indicates you did not have valid insurance.
In the future, this could mean that you have to pay more to get the legal amount of coverage.
In some states, you could even be arrested for not having adequate insurance coverage and serve up to one year in jail.
This is considered furnishing a counterfeit document to an official of the government and comes with a whole separate list of penalties.
Making Sure You Have the Legally Required Car Insurance
The best way to make sure that you are not in the frustrating situation of being pulled over without valid insurance is to prevent it from it happening to you in the first place.
There are so many options for getting the legally required car insurance in your state.
It does not take long at all to get quotes from multiple insurance companies, so you do not have to jump at the first company that offers you coverage.
Shopping around is the way that you can make sure you get the best deal for coverage and are presented with multiple options to research for auto insurance.
If you do not meet your responsibility to make payments for your car insurance policy, the insurer will simply drop your coverage.
The Final Word on Having Proper Auto Insurance and Police Verification
It is essential that you make sure your car insurance coverage status is up to date at all times.
You can be caught driving without valid insurance even without the police officer asking for your proof of insurance card.
This is because there are state databases that make electronic verification of your car insurance status very convenient for police officers.
There is no use hiding that you are not insured because the police will be able to check quickly. Enter your zip code below to get FREE car insurance quotes today!
FREE Car Insurance Comparison
Compare quotes from the top car insurance companies and save!
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Brad Larson
Licensed Insurance Agent
Brad Larson has been in the insurance industry for over 16 years. He specializes in helping clients navigate the claims process, with a particular emphasis on coverage analysis. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Utah in Political Science. He also holds an Associate in Claims (AIC) and Associate in General Insurance (AINS) designations, as well as a Utah Property and Casual...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about car insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything car insurance-related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by car insurance experts.