Tennessee’s Financial Responsibility Law now requires motor vehicle owners to maintain proof of liability insurance coverage in the event of a car accident or a verifiable exemption.
The Department of Revenue has also developed an online system to verify financial responsibility in order to hold Tennessee drivers accountable.
Starting in 2017, uninsured drivers in Tennessee will pay fines and risk losing the right to drive their vehicles if they don’t have proper auto insurance or another form of financial responsibility in place.
The required minimum limits of your liability car insurance are:
• $25,000 for each injury or death per accident.
• $50,000 for total injuries or deaths per accident.
• $15,000 for property damage per accident.
Under the state’s new Electronic Insurance Verification System, you risk paying fines and potentially losing the right to drive your vehicle if you do not comply with the Financial Responsibility Law. You can’t afford not to have proper insurance coverage.
The state’s new electronic insurance verification system matches your vehicle identification number (VIN) with your automobile insurance policy information. Rather than checking for insurance coverage at the time of registration renewal, the system will check for insurance coverage on a continual basis.
If the system cannot match your vehicle’s VIN to a corresponding policy, you’ll get a letter from the state asking you to visit www.driveinsuredtn.com and provide proof of insurance or another form of financial responsibility.
Make sure your VIN is correct on registration and insurance documents to avoid unnecessary notifications from the Department of Revenue.
If you do not respond to the request for information letter within 30 days, you will receive additional notices and potentially have to pay up to $125 in fines. You will also risk having your vehicle registration suspended and losing the right to drive your car if you fail to obtain automobile insurance or some other form of financial responsibility.
Questions you may have:
My vehicle is not being used. Does it still need to have auto insurance?
No. If you received an insurance verification notice in the mail, but the vehicle is being stored (not driven on Tennessee roads), you will need to verify this information by completing the online questionnaire on www.driveinsuredtn.com. Have your VIN and PIN (as listed on the notice you received) available. If you have lost your PIN, please call the Vehicle Services call center at 615-741-3101. Select option #2.
What if I haven’t been insuring my vehicle because I can’t afford it?
If you have a car loan or lease, your lender may require you to have collision and comprehensive coverage.
Other ways you can show proof of financial responsibility to satisfy legal requirements are:
• Posting a bond with the Department of Revenue for $65,000.
• Making a cash deposit with the Department of Revenue for $65,000.
What if I get pulled over right after getting insurance on a vehicle I just bought?
Your new insurance company will give you a temporary policy card. This will supersede the status listed in the state’s Electronic Insurance Verification System. Depending on how quickly your new insurance company updates its systems, that information may be available to the state in a matter of days.
What happens if I don’t get auto insurance?
You risk getting fined or potentially losing the right to drive your vehicle if you do not meet your obligations under the Financial Responsibility Law. A primary way of meeting this obligation is to get the minimum amount of auto liability insurance coverage for your vehicle.
With Tennessee’s new Electronic Insurance Verification System, drivers without proper auto insurance or other form of financial responsibility (or a verifiable exemption) will be sent a notification from the Department of Revenue. Failure to respond to the notice and secure proper auto insurance or other form of financial responsibility will result in additional notices and potentially, fines and vehicle registration suspension.
I received a notice but I no longer own the vehicle.
If you no longer own the vehicle, please report this information to the Department of Revenue by visiting www.driveinsuredtn.com and clicking "respond to your notice." Then, complete the online questionnaire.
To learn more, visit www.driveinsuredtn.com or contact the DeKalb County Clerk’s Office. You may also email insurance.verification@tn.gov
