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With more than 30 percent of the drivers on New Mexico roads driving without proper insurance coverage, the state has begun work to eliminate the rising number of uninsured motorists. 

In a recent Insurance Research Council (IRC) study, New Mexico ranked second highest in the nation for individuals driving without proper insurance coverage.  As a result, insure.com reports drivers already paying their required car insurance are suffering due to rising premiums that insurance companies have used to cover the costs of uninsured drivers. 

In the past, the New Mexico Department of Motor Vehicles had been unwilling to require verification of insurance and follow-up by insurance companies because of the presumably high cost and technical hindrance of such a venture, according to Liability Insurance and New Mexico Traffic Safety.  However, in light of recent figures, New Mexico has decided to improve the process of insurance accountability. 

“In 1999, a law was established for a tracking unit where insurance companies list their insured customers and registered vehicles.  If there is a lapse in coverage, the individual will receive a letter stating that they have 30 days to comply or their registration will be suspended,” said Bransford. 

House Bill 847 was passed in the New Mexico Legislature in 2001, officially allowing the state to pinpoint uninsured drivers and aid them in acquiring proper insurance coverage. 

New Mexico received a Request for Proposal (RFP) that would allow a designated vendor to design a database that would keep track of the uninsured motorists who are currently registered to vehicles.  Explore Information Service, a vendor based in Red Wing, Minn., is responsible for implementing the database program for the state.  With Explore’s help, the new program will send letters to uninsured motorists beginning in December 2002. 

Under the new bill, insurance companies must contact the Motor Vehicle Division on a monthly basis in the case of new business or canceled policies, according to the Colorado Uninsured Motorist Database.      

Once the program is put into action, state officers and police officials will be able to verify registration and insurance through the database during traffic stops. 

Before New Mexico’s decision to address the issue of proper automobile coverage, many uninsured drivers were not unknown to cheat the system when it came to the requirement of insurance coverage. 

“A lot of people who are pulled over with no proof of insurance were able to get away with, ‘Oh, I don’t have it with me’.  Then they would go and pay for a 30 day policy just to show they have some sort of coverage,” said Bransford.  Once the 30 day policy would expire, the driver would fail to renew the insurance, Bransford reports.

Bransford said that under the new law, uninsured motorists will be unable to get away with temporary policies.  Furthermore, New Mexico Motorist Insurance Identification Program reports that drivers who supply phony proof of insurance documents to the state can be prosecuted. 

The state of Colorado, which leads the nation with the highest number of uninsured motorists, put the Explore database into effect back in January 1999 with positive results. 

With 32 percent of the drivers in Colorado getting behind the wheel without insurance, the state passed House Bill 1209 in 1997, leading eventually to the employment of the database which now carefully tracks uninsured motorists in the state. 

A slight modification has been made to the plan created for the state of New Mexico.  Unlike Colorado, New Mexico’s uninsured motorist law requires a hearing be provided for individuals who receive a letter regarding absence of insurance coverage.  This amendment is particularly helpful in the event that an individual does not receive their notification, whether the reason be a recent relocation or loss in mail service.

“If for some reason the individual does not get a letter, they can request a hearing to petition the right to have the suspension on their registration stayed,” said Bransford. 

While the officials await the final stages of the new law’s activation, many remain optimistic concerning the outcomes the law will bring to the state of New Mexico. 

“I think you’ll see the rate of uninsured motorists drop over a short time,” said Bransford.