Tennessee Adopts Online Auto Insurance Verification

The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law, named for a driver who was killed by an uninsured motorist in the state in 2014, was met with little resistance by Tennessee lawmakers and signed by Gov. Bill Haslam on May 20.

The bill establishes an online insurance verification program that insurers must use to submit their auto liability books of business to the Tennessee Department of Revenue to verify whether drivers in the state have met state financial responsibility requirements with an auto liability insurance policy. Insurers in the state can choose to work with the Tennessee commissioner of revenue-approved Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration (IICMVA) platform, which functions as a liaison between the insurance industry and state motor vehicle departments.

Insurers that don’t participate in the IICMVA platform must transmit the required information by electronic means or another means of transmission acceptable to the department and its designated agent.

If drivers found not to have insurance coverage on their vehicle do not submit proof of insurance to the Tennessee Department of Revenue’s Motor Vehicle Division, they can be fined, have their vehicle registration revoked and ultimately be arrested if caught driving without insurance in a non-registered vehicle.

Jeff Anderson, executive vice president for the Professional Insurance Agents of Tennessee, which was influential in getting the legislation developed and passed, says this law will help tackle Tennessee’s high uninsured motorist rate of over 20 percent.

“Once people understand what will happen we are hopeful they will get insurance coverage. The goal is to get people to get insurance and keep insurance,” said Anderson.

The effective date for database development was May 20, 2015 and July 1, 2015 for application of a $300 fine by law enforcement. Jan. 1, 2016 is the effective date for database implementation.