In Texas, we have a large number of uninsured motorists. One out of five vehicles in Texas is without insurance and a lot of those uninsured motorists are driving in Fort Worth. That's why in 2008, Texas announced a new program, TexasSure, to identify vehicles without liability insurance.
TexasSure is a secure database that matches the records of registered passenger vehicles in Texas to personal auto insurance policy data submitted Texas insurance companies. With this information, law enforcement officers and county tax officials can instantly verify by a car's license plate, vehicle identification number (VIN) and liability insurance policy whether the vehicle has auto liability coverage required by state law. Every week, insurers provide their policyholders' auto insurance information to TexasSure, where it is matched to state driver license and motor vehicle records.
The program aims to cut down the nearly 20 percent of Texas motorists driving without insurance. It is designed to stop the actions some drivers take to avoid the law, like using counterfeit proof of insurance cards or obtaining insurance to get a card and then immediately canceling the policy once they've renewed their car registration or had their vehicle inspected.
Law-abiding motorists pay almost $1 billion in extra costs in insurance premiums every year to protect themselves against all of the drivers in Texas who don't have car insurance. Car accidents involving uninsured motorists are especially a problem in the Metroplex where the rate of uninsured motorists is higher than the state average. TexasSure is designed to help the law-abiding citizen and take uninsured motorists off our streets.
Already TexasSure has decreased the number of uninsured motorists in Texas. In June 2008, when the program started, statewide 24.28 percent of Texas registered vehicles could not be matched to an insurance policy. By June 2010, the number of unmatched registered vehicles had declined to 21.65 percent.
If you're driving uninsured, the time to get insurance is now. The state of Texas only requires that you have minimum liability insurance, the kind of insurance that protects the person you hit if you are involved in a car accident. Drive without this insurance and you could face steep penalties. First time offenders are subject to a fine of up to $350, plus court costs, and may be assessed additional fees as authorized by Texas Transportation Code Chapter 708. Get caught twice driving without insurance and you become subject to a two-year driver license suspension.
TexasSure also keeps track of when someone's insurance policy lapses. When this happens, TexasSure will send you a letter of notification to let you know you no longer have valid insurance.
With TexasSure, the free ride is over for uninsured drivers.
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