PCI Supports Hawaii Legislation to Use Smartphones as Proof of Insurance

The Hawaii Legislature has approved a bill that will enable Hawaii drivers to show proof of insurance with their cellphone in a traffic stop.

House Bill 1705 will give consumers the choice to use a paper insurance card or use their smartphone to show proof of coverage.

The bill is now headed to the desk of the governor, and it has the support of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

“Today, people are using their smartphones to do more and more things electronically and this bill gives them the convenience of being able to use them to display their insurance card,” Mark Sektnan, PCI vice president, said in a statement. “They shop, bank and pay bills from their phone. They even use them to board airplanes. Yet in Hawaii, motorists are still required to carry a physical insurance identification card with them. The vast majority of states give motorists the choice to carry a paper identification card or use the electronic format and we are urging the governor to sign HB 1705, so drivers here will have that option.”

House Bill 1705 is permissive, meaning it does not require anyone to use a particular format. Additionally, insurers are also not mandated to provide electronic proof of coverage. Under HB 1705, state officials viewing someone’s smartphone are prohibited from viewing any other information on the phone. This means a motorist does not give up his or her privacy simply by showing someone they have insurance.

If HB 1705 is signed by the governor, Hawaii will become the 46th state to enact legislation or regulations allowing electronic proof of coverage, according to PCI.