Car insurance crackdown could be coming to Missouri

As a part of a bundle of legal guidelines affecting automobile house owners, state lawmakers final month permitted a provision that can permit the Division of Income to electronically confirm whether or not a automobile is insured.

The measure, which awaits approval by Gov. Mike Parson, would permit the division to droop the registration of any automobile that’s decided to be in violation of the state’s insurance coverage requirement.

Missouri legislation requires drivers to keep up protection. However a driver can drop protection after renewing license plates and drive round for the subsequent two years. They may go penalty-free — until they’re pulled over by police or have an accident.

Based on the Insurance coverage Analysis Council, one in eight drivers on the highway nationally in 2019 was driving with out insurance coverage, which may increase prices for individuals who have insurance coverage by an estimated $78 per automobile.

“Uninsured drivers enhance the price of insurance coverage for individuals who adjust to their state’s insurance coverage necessities and that’s not truthful,” IRC vp David Corum stated in a press release.

The council estimated that in 2019, greater than 16% of Missouri motorists weren’t insured, which ranked twelfth highest within the nation. Mississippi was No. 1 at 29.4%, whereas New Jersey was greatest at 3.1%.

The sponsor of the laws, Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, didn’t reply to a request for remark.

Underneath the plan, the division will give motorists 30 days to supply proof of insurance coverage earlier than a registration is suspended.

State legislation requires automobiles to be insured for $25,000 per particular person for bodily harm, $50,000 per accident for bodily harm and $25,000 for uninsured motorist protection.

The laws is one half of a bigger motorized vehicle invoice that additionally bans cellphone use whereas driving and can make it simpler to pay gross sales taxes when a automobile or truck is bought.

Presently, motorists might should make a number of stops to gather the assorted paperwork wanted to get licensing and title work permitted. That might contain a visit to the county collector’s workplace to get proof of non-public property tax paid on a automobile earlier than going to a license workplace.

The proposal awaiting Parson’s signature would require automobile sellers to gather and remit gross sales taxes, quite than forcing motorists to pay the tax to the division immediately after they drive their automobiles off the vendor’s lot.

However, the pc system first must be upgraded for each the tax difficulty and the insurance coverage provision, stated Income spokeswoman Anne Marie Moy.

A $65 million contract to improve the system was issued in March. Moy stated a full system implementation isn’t anticipated to be prepared till July 2026.

The laws is Senate Invoice 398.

(Word: Story up to date June 2, 2023 to mirror uninsured motorist protection requirement.)