CT DMV Taking Action on Car Insurance Issues, Registration Suspensions

The Department of Motor Vehicles is implementing an immediate action plan for a backlog of cases that have resulted in suspension of registrations for vehicles not having state-required insurance.

“The State of Connecticut does not want citizens fearing to drive their cars because they have been told erroneously by DMV they have no insurance and that their registrations have been suspended,” said DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala, Jr., in a prepared statement.

Under immediate direction from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s office, the DMV will take the following steps:

• Effective immediately so that customers are not ticketed or towed, DMV will not give a list of registration suspensions for insurance compliance to law enforcement. We do not want people ticketed or towed for this matter until it is cleared up. We will hold back sending that list to law enforcement until a backlog of cases is resolved.
• DMV has redeployed staff to the insurance compliance unit where they have been working continuously and they will be working through weekend to clean up the backlog.
• Providing a customer has had continuous coverage, any fines or fees incorrectly incurred from August 18, 2015 to January 9, 2016, and as a result of a DMV error, will be reimbursed by DMV. See the CT DMV website for more information.
• DMV will issue letters on behalf of customers to use in any court proceeding or payment of fine to show that the registration suspension was in error.
• DMV will be meeting with law enforcement officials to review the situation and discuss the steps we are taking.

“The hold back on registration suspensions for insurance compliance going to law enforcement will give us time to go through that backlog and to sort out those who have insurance from those who don’t,” Ayala said.

He pointed out that people receiving letters from DMV about insurance compliance questions need to respond and provide proof of insurance. Anyone driving a vehicle on the state’s roads needs to carry a valid insurance card.

Photo by downhilldom1984, via flickr creative commons