OAI: Legislation Puts Car Insurance on Road to More Mobility

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pieces of legislation in several state legislatures aim to shift the way that drivers prove they have insurance from hard-copy cards toward mobile phone displays, emphasizing the growing impact mobile technology is having on the industry, according to Online Auto Insurance.

Lawmakers are lining up to support efforts to legitimize electronic means that they say meet the needs of a driving population that's increasingly using smartphones. And whether you have an expensive or cheap car insurance policy doesn't make a difference: most insurers already offer proof of your policy in an electronic format, and all insurers would have to under California's proposed legislation.

A 13-0 vote last week from a state Assembly committee in California advanced AB 1708, which allows authorities to accept electronic forms of coverage proof. It now sits in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Source: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/asm/ab_1701-1750/ab_1708_bill_20120215_introduced.pdf

Another unanimous vote last week backing similar legislation came in Louisiana, where a committee sent a bill to the state House for further consideration this week.

Late last month, Idaho and Arizona became the first states enacting laws to allow electronic displays of an insurance policy as legal evidence of coverage. The two bills got solid backing from legislators, garnering unanimous support at some points as they moved through their respective state legislatures.

The recent legal trend would simplify the traffic stops and courthouse visits that most motorists dread when they are issued fix-it tickets for failing to have evidence of coverage.

The Court Statistics Project estimates that, in 2009, state courts handled more than 58 million traffic violation cases, which all likely involved motorists who were required to show their proof of coverage.

"These new laws give motorists a paperless option that will prevent them from having to fumble through the glove compartment only to find out their proof of insurance card was misplaced," according to a statement from the trade group Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

PCI applauded the recent developments in the Golden State, saying that it showed that politicians were "adapting financial responsibility laws to keep up with ever-changing technology."

For more on this and related issues, head to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/cheap/ for access to an easy-to-use quote-comparison generator and informative resource pages.

SOURCE Online Auto, LLC