New York Codes, Rules and Regulations
Title 15 - Department of Motor Vehicles
Chapter I - REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER
Subchapter C - INSURANCE
Part 32 - Insurance Identification Cards
Section 32.12 - Insurance information accompanying id cards
Universal Citation: 15 NY Comp Codes Rules and Regs ยง 32.12
Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 12, March 20, 2024
(a) At the time that ID cards are issued to a policyholder by or on behalf of an insurance company in conjunction with the original issuance of a policy an insurer shall provide the policyholder with the insurance information set forth in section 32.12(b) of this Part. An insurance company or producer may provide this information to a policyholder at any other time including in conjunction with policy renewals or vehicle endorsements as may be deemed appropriate.
(b) Important insurance information for policyholders.
(1) Financial security
(insurance) shall be maintained without interruption during the entire
registration period regardless of whether the vehicle is driven.
(2) License plates must be surrendered before
insurance is cancelled or suspended without exception. This is compliance with
New York State law. Surrendering license plates before cancellation of
insurance will prevent communications from DMV based on cancellation that
insurers are required by law report to DMV.
(3) Policyholders moving from New York State
must coordinate the surrender of New York State license plates and cancellation
of a New York State insurance policy with obtaining a new registration and
insurance policy in another state. Again, this will prevent DMV communications
based on cancellation reported by insurers.
(4) Insurers must provide policyholders with
at least two identical ID cards for each vehicle insured. ID cards represent
that insurance is provided for the named insured and the described vehicle, as
applicable, as of the effective date shown thereon.
(5) Encrypted 2D bar codes on ID cards
contain tamper proof security features that prevent ID card fraud. The bar code
contains information about the policy, effective dates of coverage and issuance
date, registrant name and address, vehicle description (as applicable) and the
issuer of the ID card.
(6) Some
insurers and agents are using software that allows ID cards to be either
e-mailed or faxed. Successful faxing requires equipment in good working order
both sending and receiving. Faxed ID cards are only acceptable if the ID card
contains a large faxable bar code that scans (is readable).
(7) Policyholders should check to be sure
that the name and the vehicle identification number (VIN) on all ID cards are
identical to the name and VIN on all the registrations. Policyholders should
immediately notify their agent and/or insurer of any discrepancies. Agents
and/or insurer must issue corrected ID card and change policy records
accordingly.
(8) Policyholders must
keep one ID card in the vehicle at all times.
(9) An ID card must, upon demand, be shown to
a law enforcement officer, judge, hearing officer or any person with whom the
insured or other driver may have had an accident. In the event of an accident,
the insured or driver can also demand to see the other driver's ID
card.
(10) The failure to produce
an ID card at the request of a law enforcement officer is presumptive evidence
of uninsured operation for which the driver may be given a ticket. An ID card
must be produced upon demand by any driver of a vehicle; not just the
registrant.
(11) If the second ID
card is not currently required for registration purposes it should be kept in a
safe place since it may be required to be submitted to DMV as proof of
insurance in the future.
(12) Upon
loss of an ID card the insured shall contact the insurance company, agent or
broker, not DMV.
(13) An ID card is
only as good as the policy that it represents. If for any reason the insurance
policy is terminated, then the ID cards issued in conjunction with such policy
are void. Any use of such invalid ID cards may be a violation of law.
(14) Failure to maintain liability insurance
coverage continuously throughout the registration period even if the vehicle is
not in use may result in the suspension of the registration and driving
privileges. Registrants if eligible may opt to pay a civil penalty for each day
that a vehicle was registered and uninsured one time in a three-year period if
the lapse in coverage does not exceed 90 days. A 20-day revocation may be
imposed on for hire vehicles such as taxis, liveries, buses, rentals and so
forth.
(15) Driving without
insurance, a valid registration or driver's license is subject to severe
sanctions under the law. A driver may be arrested and incarcerated and the
vehicle impounded. Such driver is subject to fines and surcharges in a court of
law. In cases of uninsured operation DMV will imposed mandatory revocation of
registration and driver's license as well as a substantial civil
penalty.
(16) Fraudulent issuance
or use of an ID card as proof of a non-existent policy is punishable as a
misdemeanor under New York State law.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New York may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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