Utah drivers are more likely to be insured

SALT LAKE CITY – Data gathered by MarketWatch Guides shows only 7% of Utah drivers are uninsured. And a program from the Division of Motor Vehicles is helping maintain that record.

Getting into a wreck with an uninsured driver can lead to major headaches. The problem can be found anywhere in the US, however some states do better than others. 

Dubbed the uninsured motorist identification program, this involves a joint effort between the DMV and Insure-Rite Inc. The latter collects insurance policy information and compares the info against the DMV’s database.

The benefits of being insured

Director of Policy with the State Tax Commission, Jason Gardner, said the benefits of the program are two-fold.

“One, it creates a disincentive for someone to risk driving without insurance, because they’re going to be caught. Every two weeks their vehicle will be checked against insurance records.”

The second benefit is for law enforcement officers.

“It provides information out on the roads [for law enforcement] to enforce it. Now, as soon as that registration is revoked, that shows up on every law enforcement’s records.”

Additionally, this record access streamlines procedure. If an officer pulls you over, they will already know if you’re insured or not.

Protected data

“This has been wildly successful,” Gardner said.

“All the data is kept very protected…. They [Insure-Rite] don’t sell that data to anyone else. It’s purely used to verify that a person is operating with insurance.”

According to Gardner, if someone’s registered vehicle comes up uninsured, the DMV will reach out and give them a notice to get a new policy. If drivers fail to get insurance, registration could be revoked along with a $100 fee for re-registering.

Gardner said this program has been going strong for the past ten years, and the DMV is planning on extending this to water craft too.

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