Is your vehicle insured? If not, your registration could be suspended!
December 12, 2019
If you haven’t heard, a new law goes into effect in January that requires the Idaho Transportation Department’s Division of Motor Vehicles to determine monthly whether the owner of a vehicle has insurance.The new law applies to non-commercial vehicles (under 26,000 gross vehicle weight) and excludes off-highway vehicles (ATV, UTV, Golf Cart). If ITD determines that your vehicle is without insurance coverage for two consecutive months, you will receive a warning and be given 30 days to provide proof of insurance or obtain an exemption before your registration is suspended. If your registration is suspended, owners will need to provide proof of insurance and pay a fee of $75 to get it reinstated.
It has been pointed out that the ITD system has no way of knowing which “non-commercial” vehicles are insured under “commercial motor vehicle coverage” (these are going to be private passenger vehicles, under 26,000 GVW and will likely include business owner’s vehicles and work trucks/vans). As a result, business owners should keep an eye out for the warning letters from ITD. If you do receive the letter and know your vehicle is covered, you must complete the ITD’s “Exception Form” and provide proof that the vehicle is insured.
For many, the new law has created more questions than answers so we reached out to the Idaho Transportation Department to try and help clear up some of the confusion:
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The new law goes into effect January 1, 2020. At that time, if your vehicle doesn’t have insurance (or ITD’s system doesn’t recognize that you have insurance) for January and February, you will receive a warning letter in March. If you don’t comply/provide proof of coverage within 30 days (by completing ITD’s “Exception Form” and provide proof) your registration could be suspended as soon as April 1st.
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The “Proof” of insurance that ITD is looking for should include the business name (if applicable) and may include the following documents – your auto ID card for the vehicle, a copy of your policy or a certificate of insurance. Be sure to include your business EIN on anything you send to ITD as this will help them with their tracking/compliance.
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When completing the Exception Form (or other forms), be sure to include the license plate number for the vehicle, the vehicle information (year, make & model) as well as your EIN (if applicable). These are ITD’s best tools to track the compliance of your vehicle.
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ITD also has a “Non-Use Form” that is similar to the Exception Form but is to be used for motorcycles or other vehicles that are only insured/used during certain months (not the full year). If your motorcycle or vehicle falls into this category, ITD said this will have to be completed every year.
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If you have a “fleet” of vehicles, one Exception Form may be completed as long as a spreadsheet is included/attached showing all vehicle VINs, license plate numbers and EIN number.
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Currently, the letters being sent from ITD do not include your EIN or the year, make and model of the vehicle. The only information on the letter is the VIN and their system isn’t listing the full VIN numbers. They’re hoping to get these issues resolved.
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If you receive a warning letter for a vehicle you no longer own, the “Release of Liability Form” must be submitted to the ITD.
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The letters currently being sent are as a courtesy from ITD. If you’ve already received a letter, you’ve been on their non-compliance list for two months. They are currently on the first batch of letters and expect to send at least two more before the law goes into effect.
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Unfortunately at this time, there is nowhere for agents or insureds to check their compliance with ITD other than calling to confirm.
For more information, you can visit ITD’s Insurance Verification FAQs or their Division of Motor Vehicles page that contains links for the Exception Form, Vehicle Non-Use Form and Release of Liability Form.
As always, please let us know if you have any questions!
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