Why Insured Oklahoma Drivers Are Being Told They Don’t Have Car Insurance
Lisa Steuer McArdle
· 3 min read
If you live in
Oklahoma
, you might be receiving notices for being uninsured even though you have car insurance
. In fact, it’s a problem that’s been going on for years—Oklahoma residents who are insured have been receiving notices from the Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion Program (UVED) telling them they are facing a fine for not being insured.
Oklahoma’s car insurance program
According to the
Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office
, nationwide studies estimate that up to 26% of vehicles driving on Oklahoma’s roads are uninsured. Due to revenue issues, the state of Oklahoma has found it difficult to enforce its
car insurance law
in an efficient manner. As a result, cameras have been on Oklahoma roads since November 2018 in order to catch uninsured drivers. The automatic license plate readers are in 50 locations, with at least one in every judicial district, according to
KFOR
.The cameras work by taking pictures of license plates and comparing the information to the Oklahoma Insurance Verification System. Ideally, license plates that are associated with a valid personal line of insurance are disregarded, while all others are sent to the Oklahoma District Attorney’s Council for review.
Owners of vehicles who are believed to be violating the law receive a notice that contains a copy of the photos taken and instructions on how to proceed.
The Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office maintains that all data collected by the UVED Program is retained solely for the program, and that when the data is no longer needed, it is deleted or destroyed.
Problems with the Oklahoma car insurance program
However, the Oklahoma District Attorney’s Office admits that due to the way that insurance policies are reported by carriers and brokers, vehicles that do have insurance may still receive a notice that they are uninsured. In fact, this has reportedly been an ongoing issue for years.
It’s been reported that it can especially happen to vehicles with commercial insurance, because they are not required to report customers’ status, even though they are encouraged to do so.
Another reason drivers might be receiving these notices when they shouldn’t be is because they failed to keep their tags when they sold their vehicle. This has been required by law since 2019.
What to do in you incorrectly receive an Oklahoma car insurance notice
If you live in Oklahoma, are insured and receive one of these notices saying you are not insured, all you need to do is call your insurer, and they can go to the
Oklahoma Insurance Verification System website
.If your insurance agent does not want to do this, you can also contact the
Uninsured Vehicle Enforcement Diversion Program
for assistance. Get covered with Jerry
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