Suspended Because Vehicle Registered in My Name and Insured in Someone else Name

[maddie71]

My question involves a driver's license issued by the State of: Florida

I received a notice that my drivers license has been suspended because my vehicle is not insured. It is insured but it is on my boyfriend insurance policy. What do I do, I sent them proof that the vehicle is insured and they said it was okay, now I'm told my drivers license is suspended what do I do?

[Mr. Knowitall]

I expect that the letter you received includes instruction on what you need to do to prove that you are insured. I expect that it instructs you to provide proof of insurance to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Florida’s no-fault insurance law requires vehicle owners to carry at least $10,000 Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 Property Damage Liability (PDL). All licensed insurance companies electronically report to DHSMV when policies providing PIP coverage are cancelled or taken out, so most of the time, owners do not need to notify the Department at all. If your insurance company notifies us that you canceled a policy, and no other active policy is reported by another insurance company, we send a letter notifying you we need insurance information. This is sent to the address that you have provided to the department. It’s important to make sure this address is current in order to be sure you’ll receive important mail from us.

The policy may be cancelled because you failed to pay the insurance premium and the insurance company cancelled the policy or you changed insurance companies. If this occurs you must prove you have PIP/PDL insurance for every vehicle you have registered in Florida. There is no reinstatement fee if you provide insurance information in effect before the suspension date. If you don’t have proof of insurance before the suspension date you must pay a $150 reinstatement fee for the first offense, $250 for a second offense within three years and $500 for all subsequent offenses.

The suspension will affect the driver license, tag and registration of the suspended person.

There are several methods of providing insurance information. The fastest way is to update your insurance information online. You also may mail in your response to the letter, take proof of insurance to a driver license office or call (850) 617-2000 and use the automated system to update your insurance.

If you no longer own the vehicle, surrender the Florida tags and registration immediately upon canceling the Florida insurance.

There's a wrinkle in that, if your boyfriend has no ownership interest in the car, his insurance may not cover the vehicle even though it's been "added" to his policy. He should check with his insurance agent.