The State of Louisiana had just launched its real-time auto insurance monitoring system Feb. 28. The system will allow police officers to better check whether motorists are paying their insurance premiums or not.
The monitoring system works by pulling in reports from insurance companies and forwarding the information to the Office of Motor Vehicles and State Police—all in real time. This allows even State Troopers to check the database from their vehicles during traffic stops.
Previously, Louisiana had no such system, which meant that police officers can only check whether drivers possess an insurance card, which may not necessarily mean that a motorist has been paying his or her premiums.
Authorities hope that the new system will encourage motorists in the state to keep their policies up-to-date. Louisiana has one of the highest—if not the highest—motor vehicle insurance rates in the country, with roughly a quarter of the driving public in the state without auto insurance.
The system’s rollout will be done in three phases, said State Police spokesman Maj. Doug Cain. In the first trial phase, State Police troops in Baton Rouge and Monroe will adopt the system. Once the kinks have been worked out during the first phase, the second phase will see the statewide launch of the system for State Police. It will not be until the third phase when the rest of the police across the state will have access to the system.
According to Cain, should a State Trooper stop a vehicle without insurance, the automobile will be subjected to towing and impounding. The driver will also need to pay a fine and submit proof of insurance before he or she can reclaim his or her vehicle.
It was due to a lack of real-time monitoring that the Office of Motor Vehicles started issuing fines last year for a huge backlog of lapsed insurance cases. The system will allow the agency to fine drivers the moment they let their insurance lapse, preventing backlogs.
