Auto Liability Insurance

The New York State registered motor vehicle you drive on a public road or highway in New York State, or that you allow someone else to drive, must be covered by liability insurance. Vehicles registered outside New York State and operated within New York must conform with the New York State financial responsibility law. New York State law requires this liability insurance to protect you and other highway users who may be involved in a crash with you.

• Unless your registered vehicle is a motorcycle, the registered vehicle must be insured even when it is in storage or not being driven. If you have a motorcycle, insurance coverage must be in effect whenever the motorcycle is operated on a public road or highway.
• Your vehicle's insurance and registration must always be in exactly the same name. You should always carry the insurance ID card in your vehicle.
• Insurance companies may provide proof of auto liability coverage in a paper or electronic format. The electronic format must be capable of being displayed on a portable electronic device.
• The insurance coverage must be obtained from a company licensed by the NYS Department of Financial Services and authorized by DMV. Out-of-state insurance is not acceptable.

When you insure your vehicle, your insurance company must file your coverage electronically with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Your insurance company also will issue you an insurance identification card so you can register your vehicle at the DMV. However, your insurance ID card alone does not prove you have coverage. State law requires electronic filing of coverage by your insurance company. 

Your insurance company must notify DMV electronically every time you obtain motor vehicle insurance liability coverage and whenever your coverage has ended. This also is true whether you have changed your insurance company or registered a replacement vehicle, or if your coverage has been reinstated. If your insurance company does not properly notify the DMV electronically, your vehicle registration will be suspended and your driver license could also become suspended.

If you drive a vehicle without insurance liability coverage and DMV receives information that you are involved in a crash, your driver license and vehicle registration will be revoked for at least 1 year. Your license and registration will also be revoked for at least 1 year if someone else drives your uninsured vehicle and is involved in a traffic crash and is convicted of operating without insurance.

The traffic court fine could be as much as $1,500 for driving without insurance or allowing someone else to drive your uninsured vehicle. You will have to pay the DMV an additional civil penalty of $750 to get your license back after revocation.

Make sure the DMV has your current address for both your vehicle registration and your driver license.

You must keep the liability coverage on your motor vehicle for as long as your vehicle is registered in New York State. If your New York State insurance is going to end for any reason, turn in the license plates to DMV before your coverage ends. (Remember the simple rule: No Insurance, No Plates!) Be sure to obtain a receipt that shows that you turned the plates in. If your insurance ends, you must turn in your plates even if your car or truck will be parked off the public road or put into storage.

If you do not have valid liability insurance coverage for your vehicle, you must immediately turn in your registration and license plates at a DMV office. If you cannot visit a DMV office, complete the Plate Surrender Application (PD-7) for each set of plates you are surrendering and mail the application and plates to New York State DMV's Plate Surrender Office.

Note: You are not required to surrender motorcycle plates to DMV when liability insurance lapses. However, it is illegal to operate a motorcycle if it does not have proper liability insurance.
 

DMV letter says my insurance has lapsed

This DMV letter indicates that an insurance company has notified the DMV that your insurance coverage has ended and that no other company has notified the DMV about new coverage. Read the insert that came with the letter and follow its instructions carefully and quickly. If there is a problem, do not assume your insurance company will take care of it. If you actually do have insurance, respond as the letter instructs, then contact your company or agent about the problem. Ask your company to file a notice of coverage with the DMV electronically.

DMV letter says my insurance is not verified

This means your insurance company did not file your coverage with the DMV electronically. Contact your company or agent and ask them to file a notice of coverage. If the DMV does not receive proper notification electronically from the insurance company, your registration and license will be suspended.

But my insurance coverage has not lapsed

If you receive a cancellation notice from your insurance company and you do not believe your coverage has really ended or been canceled, contact your insurance agent or company immediately.

• Do not use the vehicle if coverage has ended, even if you think it ended because of a mistake.
• If your liability coverage is going to end and you are not going to immediately replace it with other coverage, turn in your license plates to the DMV before coverage ends. If you do not, your vehicle registration and driver license will be suspended.
• Do not keep the plates while you work out a problem with the insurance company. Turn the plates into the DMV! You can get your registration back and new plates when the problem is corrected. If your insurance coverage becomes reinstated or if you obtain coverage from a different company, be sure the new company notifies DMV electronically.

Suspension for invalid proof of insurance

If your registration is suspended for invalid proof of insurance, your insurance company reported that the proof of insurance you gave to the DMV was not valid and you do not have liability coverage with that company. If you do have coverage with that company, contact your insurance company and ask it to file a notice of coverage with the DMV electronically. The company must file notice electronically - paper proof or e-mail messages are NOT acceptable. Your proof of insurance cannot be filed electronically by your insurance agent or broker; it can be filed electronically only by your insurance company.

If your vehicle is now insured with a different company, provide your new insurance ID card to the DMV and ask your new company to file your coverage with the DMV electronically.

Consequences of an insurance lapse

If you drive any vehicle that is not insured, you could be arrested or ticketed, and your vehicle impounded, by a law enforcement officer. If you do not follow the steps above, your vehicle registration will be suspended. You must turn in your vehicle's license plates to the DMV. The registration suspension will last for the same number of days that your vehicle was without liability coverage and the plates had not been turned in.

If the registration suspension period lasts more than 90 days, your driver license will also be suspended. The license suspension will be in effect until it is reinstated after the end of the registration suspension. To reinstate your driver license, you must pay the DMV a $50 license suspension termination fee. For a suspension that has an effective date prior to July 6, 2009, the termination fee is $25.

Avoid suspension of your registration

If your insurance coverage lapse is 90 days or less, you may have the choice to pay a civil penalty instead of turning in your license plates to the DMV.  This civil penalty option is not available if your insurance lapse was for more than 90 days or if you have used the civil penalty option for a registration suspension within the previous 36 months. Civil penalty is based on the number of days insurance is lapsed.

Example 1:  If your insurance lapse is 25 days, you may pay a civil penalty of $200 ($8 per day for 25 days) and not turn in your plates, or you must surrender your plates and serve a registration suspension of 25 days.

Example 2:  If your insurance lapse is 90 days, you may pay a total penalty of $900 ($8 per day for the first 30 days = $240; plus $10 per day for days 31 to 60 = $300; plus $12 per day for days 61 to 90 = $360) and not turn in your plates, or you must surrender your plates and serve a registration suspension of 90 days.