Vehicle insurance verification system to begin in January

A new computer verification system intended to make sure vehicles have liability insurance in place at the time they’re registered or renewed will be in the hands of county treasurers across Montana starting in January.

Motor Vehicle Division administrator Brenda Nordlund notes that no one will be denied a registration or a renewal until some issues with the system are worked out, including mail-in or online renewals, insurance policies that originated outside Montana, and commercially-insured vehicles.

The idea is to stop drivers from pretending they have liability insurance on their vehicle when they don’t, Nordlund said. An insurance card based on a canceled policy will no longer work during a traffic stop, she said.

The verification system was created by a bill sponsored Rep. Gary MacLaren, R-Victor, and Sen. Jerry Black, R-Shelby, and passed in the 2009 Legislature. A bill sponsored by MacLaren and Sen. Jon Sonju, R-Kalispell, and passed in the 2011 Legislature delayed the system’s implementation with the state’s county treasurers until 2013.

The system is expected to cost about $540,000 a year and is funded by a $1.80 per vehicle increase in annual license plate fees. Yellowstone County has been testing the system, and the Montana Highway Patrol began using the system in May.