Starting Jan. 1, vehicle owners will actually have to prove they have insurance to renew their tabs or transfer ownership of their motor vehicles or motorcycles. Due to the work of a legislative task force on uninsured motorists, the state legislature directed the Department of Public Safety to reinstitute previous procedures that require proof of insurance while registering your vehicle. The directive was part of a larger transportation bill that mostly will take effect in July.
Required proof of insurance was curtailed over a decade ago during one of the state's billion dollar budget shortfalls. The Department instead simply asked registrants to attest that they had motor vehicle or motorcycle insurance.
Minnesota law requires drivers to possess proof of insurance at all times and maintain insurance when they operate a vehicle. The task force found more than one in 10 Minnesota drivers don't have insurance on their vehicles and lawmakers hope beefing up the documentation requirement will reduce that percentage of uninsured drivers.
So now the state won't be just taking the word of vehicle owners. It now will request specific policy information that includes insurance company name, policy number and expiration date.
According to the Department of Public Safety, the new requirement will be outlined in annual renewal notices. Vehicle owners will be able to provide the information in an application online, in person or by mail. Some renewals are already in the mail. Get ready for calls about this requirement soon.
