By BJ Austin, KERA News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-879113.mp3
Dallas, TX –
This month, the Texas Department of Insurance will mail the last of 100 thousand letters to car owners, asking for more information about their coverage. KERA's BJ Austin says it's the first "personal" outreach by the Department in an effort to increase the number of insured drivers.
Jerry Hagins with the Department of Insurance says these letters go to car owners who may have fallen through the computer database cracks.
Hagins: The Department of Insurance is sending letters out to folks who appear to have car insurance, but for some reason, aren't matching in the TexasSure database.
The new TexasSure vehicle insurance database allows law officers to determine with a few computer key strokes if a driver has liability insurance, as required by law. The first-time fine for "no insurance" is 350 dollars. Second time can be up to one thousand.
Hagins says this first round of letters is an effort to "clean up" the database. Then, this spring, MILLIONS of letters will be sent to car owners without insurance, warning them they are violating the law. Hagins says the state even offers a comparative shopping website for those who need to buy insurance.
Hagins: It'll bring up all the top insurers who write in your area with sample prices. It's a state database. You don't have to put in your email. You'll never get a marketing phone call or anything. It's an anonymous consumer shopping website.
It's helpinsure.com. 22% of vehicles statewide are not insured: 26% in Dallas County; 21% in Tarrant.