Delaware government tracks private insurance activity and confiscates
license plates of those accused of being uninsured.
Delaware Insurance Commissioner Matt Denn held an event yesterday
touting the state’s use of agents who confiscate license plates belonging
to anyone the commission’s database says is uninsured. “I am committed to
reducing the number of uninsured vehicles on the road, in part by warning
the owners of those uninsured vehicles that we will take their license
plates,” Denn said in a prepared statement.
Last June, lawmakers enacted a provision granting insurance commission
agents the authority to mail a letter to the registered owner of any
vehicle the computer database believes is uninsured. Seven days later, if
the owner has not proved his innocence, the agents will attempt to locate
the vehicle and take its license plates. Each time, the state will
collect substantial fines for the retrieval of the plates.
The state determines whether a particular vehicle is “uninsured” by
monitoring the policy status of every resident. Insurance companies must
notify the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) whenever a policy lapses.
The DMV must also randomly audit ten percent of the state’s drivers.
Anyone being red-flagged by the computer is sent a warning letter. If the
owner is unable to respond within 30 days because he is on vacation or
the notice is lost in the mail, he is automatically declared “uninsured”
regardless of whether he carries insurance or not. The penalties for
being declared uninsured include the cancellation of the motorist’s
registration, for which the DMV is able to collect a restoration fee of
$150, plus an additional $5 dollars a day for every day after a 30-day
period has elapsed.
Source: http://www.thenewspaper.com/
