Car insurance problem

[Robert Maxwell]

I've got a bit of a car insurance problem, and I'm hoping someone here can help me out a bit.

My wife and I have Geico. We've been with them for a few years. A few weeks back, she got a second vehicle. She called me, I went to Geico's site, put in the VIN, updated the coverage, all that good stuff.

Yesterday, she called me to send her an insurance card--she got pulled over and didn't have a card showing the second car, so she got a ticket. I went to Geico's site to get a card sent to her, and for some reason the second car wasn't there!

I panicked, looked through my account history, all the documents. I could not find one trace of the new car. I went to their "Add a Vehicle" section, and checked the form history on the VIN field--sure enough, the VIN from the new car was in there, so obviously I had done it. When I went through and re-added it, the increase in premium also looked familiar. Since it had only been a few weeks, I had not had another bill to pay, so I didn't even realize it wasn't on there.

Pissed off, I called Geico to see what they could do--I really needed the car to have been covered, but supposedly they couldn't find any record I ever had it on there. Obviously, I had gone through and put it on, but their system ate it somewhere along the way. Anyway, they said there was nothing more they could do since they had no record of it.

My question is, what should my wife expect in court? She's never had any trouble with the law, and she has a good insurance history. It would be obvious that she's not someone who goes around driving without insurance. But would they still throw fines and a suspension at her for this? That's what she's really worried about.

This is in Indiana, if that makes a difference. I know the first offense there gets you a 90-day suspension and a $150 reinstatement fee. We just really don't want that to happen.

 

[Bloodwhiner]

I'd say expect the fine at least and start preparing for the suspension. This may not be a traffic violation per se - it may fall under civil codes. So getting insurance now may be problematic as she has the ticket for no insurance - you may be looking at greatly increased rates.

I'd get insurance before the court date and then hope it doesn't get cancelled or have an immediate rate increase.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I've already added the second vehicle to the insurance--I put it back on as soon as I realized it wasn't there. Problem was, this was after the ticket was issued.

Technically, she was insured, just not on the vehicle she was driving at the time.

 

[Timby]

If the vehicle itself wasn't insured at the time of the violation, she's boned, and you're going to have to just roll with the consequences.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

If the vehicle itself wasn't insured at the time of the violation, she's boned, and you're going to have to just roll with the consequences.

Boo!

Oh well. That's what I was afraid of.

 

[Jan]

I'd suggest getting in touch with a human at Geico. I think that most insurance companies cover newly acquired vehicles for X amount of time after purchase even without the VIN number and details. Otherwise nobody'd ever be able to drive home from a dealership.

Good luck.

Jan

 

[Starbreaker]

Just bring proof that you have insurance now and say that there was a clerical error somewhere.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I'd suggest getting in touch with a human at Geico. I think that most insurance companies cover newly acquired vehicles for X amount of time after purchase even without the VIN number and details. Otherwise nobody'd ever be able to drive home from a dealership.

Good luck.

Jan

Yeah, I spent almost an hour on the phone with them last night, and they claimed not to have any record of that vehicle--which is odd because, as I said, the VIN entry form still had the VIN for the new vehicle in its history! Obviously, I had entered it on the day my wife bought it, but somewhere between that and actually finalizing the changes, the thing puked and lost it while giving me the impression it was successful.

She's only had the car a few weeks, and given that she's never had a lapse in insurance coverage, I would hope any judge would see it as some kind of screwup and not an intentional lack of insurance.

Just bring proof that you have insurance now and say that there was a clerical error somewhere.

Yeah, I'm giving her some documentation--the insurance company provided me with insurance cards showing the second vehicle for the entire duration of the current policy, which goes back to October. I'm hoping that's enough for the BMV to put this issue to bed.

 

[Jan]

Yeah, I'm giving her some documentation--the insurance company provided me with insurance cards showing the second vehicle for the entire duration of the current policy, which goes back to October. I'm hoping that's enough for the BMV to put this issue to bed.

Actually, if you've got cards showing coverage, you can probably get it dismissed. I recently got stopped and my insurance card was expired. I'd simply not printed the new one. I took it to the courthouse and paid a $10 dismissal fee and that was it. The only hassel was that the courthouse was a 40 minute drive. Check your ticket and see of that's a possibility.

Jan

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I'm giving her some documentation--the insurance company provided me with insurance cards showing the second vehicle for the entire duration of the current policy, which goes back to October. I'm hoping that's enough for the BMV to put this issue to bed.

Actually, if you've got cards showing coverage, you can probably get it dismissed. I recently got stopped and my insurance card was expired. I'd simply not printed the new one. I took it to the courthouse and paid a $10 dismissal fee and that was it. The only hassel was that the courthouse was a 40 minute drive. Check your ticket and see of that's a possibility.

Jan

I think my wife can do the same thing, though she might have to go to the BMV. She intends to take care of it before the court date, in any case.

 

[Holdfast]

Yeah, I'm giving her some documentation--the insurance company provided me with insurance cards showing the second vehicle for the entire duration of the current policy, which goes back to October.

Geico have (knowingly or not) done you & your wife an IMMENSE favour by issuing this to you. You are very lucky and this should be enough for you to get away with this lapse.

(I have a great deal of sympathy with the whole story, mind you, having almost been in the same situation as your wife myself some years ago, and was really concerned until the company came through in the end)

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Yeah, I'm giving her some documentation--the insurance company provided me with insurance cards showing the second vehicle for the entire duration of the current policy, which goes back to October.

Geico have (knowingly or not) done you & your wife an IMMENSE favour by issuing this to you. You are very lucky and this should be enough for you to get away with this lapse.

(I have a great deal of sympathy with the whole story, mind you, having almost been in the same situation as your wife myself some years ago, and was really concerned until the company came through in the end)

I don't even know if they meant to do it, but it's in my policy documents, and I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth...

 

[Holdfast]

Yeah, I'm giving her some documentation--the insurance company provided me with insurance cards showing the second vehicle for the entire duration of the current policy, which goes back to October.

Geico have (knowingly or not) done you & your wife an IMMENSE favour by issuing this to you. You are very lucky and this should be enough for you to get away with this lapse.

(I have a great deal of sympathy with the whole story, mind you, having almost been in the same situation as your wife myself some years ago, and was really concerned until the company came through in the end)

I don't even know if they meant to do it, but it's in my policy documents, and I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth...

Exactly. I'm no lawyer so can't say for sure, but I'd hazard that this is going to be enough for you to get away with it (provided neither of you have already confessed what actually happened to the cops, in which case the situation is now really complicated).

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Geico have (knowingly or not) done you & your wife an IMMENSE favour by issuing this to you. You are very lucky and this should be enough for you to get away with this lapse.

(I have a great deal of sympathy with the whole story, mind you, having almost been in the same situation as your wife myself some years ago, and was really concerned until the company came through in the end)

I don't even know if they meant to do it, but it's in my policy documents, and I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth...

Exactly. I'm no lawyer so can't say for sure, but I'd hazard that this is going to be enough for you to get away with it (provided neither of you have already confessed what actually happened to the cops, in which case the situation is now really complicated).

My wife just didn't have a card handy at the time, so she was given a ticket and must provide proof of her insurance. The card seems to be sufficient, especially since she has no prior history of such problems. I think she's just going to take the card to the BMV and see if that's enough for them.

We've made no mention of any screwup with the coverage at this point! We'll cross that bridge if we have to, but I'm hoping not...

 

[Timby]

It's still a legal matter before it's a BMV matter, though. She'll probably have to appear in court for a first appearance, at which point she'll show the prosecutors that she did have valid insurance, and the charge will be dismissed, and the BMV will be notified of the dismissal.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It's still a legal matter before it's a BMV matter, though. She'll probably have to appear in court for a first appearance, at which point she'll show the prosecutors that she did have valid insurance, and the charge will be dismissed, and the BMV will be notified of the dismissal.

I just talked with her to get a better idea of what was up. They told her she could pay a $200 fine to plead no contest, and that would be the end of it--no points, no suspension, nothing. So, I'm just gonna do that rather than take it to court. I hate fines but a suspension would be so much worse.

 

[Holdfast]

It's still a legal matter before it's a BMV matter, though. She'll probably have to appear in court for a first appearance, at which point she'll show the prosecutors that she did have valid insurance, and the charge will be dismissed, and the BMV will be notified of the dismissal.

I just talked with her to get a better idea of what was up. They told her she could pay a $200 fine to plead no contest, and that would be the end of it--no points, no suspension, nothing. So, I'm just gonna do that rather than take it to court. I hate fines but a suspension would be so much worse.

Woah, wait a moment before doing this. If you accept that she was driving without insurance, that goes on her record, I'm sure, and you're going to get hit by way higher premiums later on.

If the cops don't know about the lapsed cover, and you now have Geico's documentation that you did indeed have cover throughout, I'd want to get the charge dismissed rather than accept a fine. Unless the "no contest" isn't an equivalent verdict to accepting that she drove without insurance.

 

[Captain Ice]

It's still a legal matter before it's a BMV matter, though. She'll probably have to appear in court for a first appearance, at which point she'll show the prosecutors that she did have valid insurance, and the charge will be dismissed, and the BMV will be notified of the dismissal.

I just talked with her to get a better idea of what was up. They told her she could pay a $200 fine to plead no contest, and that would be the end of it--no points, no suspension, nothing. So, I'm just gonna do that rather than take it to court. I hate fines but a suspension would be so much worse.

Woah, wait a moment before doing this. If you accept that she was driving without insurance, that goes on her record, I'm sure, and you're going to get hit by way higher premiums later on.

If the cops don't know about the lapsed cover, and you now have Geico's documentation that you did indeed have cover throughout, I'd want to get the charge dismissed rather than accept a fine. Unless the "no contest" isn't an equivalent verdict to accepting that she drove without insurance.

x2.

I'd take the insurance card to the DMV and try to get the ticket dismissed outirght. If that doesn't work, show up in court with the insurance card and go from there.

Pleading no contest is about the same as pleading guilty and it can come back to bite you two in the ass later in the form of increased premiums, cancelled coverage, or denial of coverage if you decide to switch proividers.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

I just talked with her to get a better idea of what was up. They told her she could pay a $200 fine to plead no contest, and that would be the end of it--no points, no suspension, nothing. So, I'm just gonna do that rather than take it to court. I hate fines but a suspension would be so much worse.

Woah, wait a moment before doing this. If you accept that she was driving without insurance, that goes on her record, I'm sure, and you're going to get hit by way higher premiums later on.

If the cops don't know about the lapsed cover, and you now have Geico's documentation that you did indeed have cover throughout, I'd want to get the charge dismissed rather than accept a fine. Unless the "no contest" isn't an equivalent verdict to accepting that she drove without insurance.

x2.

I'd take the insurance card to the DMV and try to get the ticket dismissed outirght. If that doesn't work, show up in court with the insurance card and go from there.

Pleading no contest is about the same as pleading guilty and it can come back to bite you two in the ass later in the form of increased premiums, cancelled coverage, or denial of coverage if you decide to switch proividers.

Well, all we have indicating coverage for the period involved is the insurance card--the full-page documentation shows the coverage on the second vehicle taking effect the day after she got the ticket.

So, there are a few options here:

1. Pay the fine, which results in no points, no suspension, and no conviction entered into her record.
2. Go to court, which has two possible outcomes: either the insurance card is sufficient and we get it dismissed, or they deem it insufficient and she will almost certainly be suspended, have points assessed, and have a conviction for driving without insurance.

We simply cannot risk her losing her license, and it looks like the prosecutor just wants to get this resolved quickly, so I'm telling her to get the above in writing--that there won't be any points, convictions, etc. associated with her just paying the fine. I did some looking on the "no contest" thing, and at least in Indiana, traffic penalties are reduced if you plead no contest.

She has insurance now on the second car so if this comes up again it won't be an issue. The state seems content to take a fine. Without any points being assessed, I don't see it affecting the insurance much (if at all)--they seem to care mostly about accidents and points.

 

[Chaos Descending]

I think you're needless screwing yourself over if you don't get the entire thing dismissed.

You shouldn't have to pay one red cent.

Of course the prosecutor wants to "get this resolved quickly", she has no case as long as you have an insurance card showing the policy was in effect at the time of the ticket.

In court, THEY have to prove THEIR case. They can't prove that you weren't insured, but you can prove that you were.