By early 2008, Texas will be using a new technology program allowing law enforcement officers to immediately verify whether a person has car insurance. The days of false proof of insurance cards or dropping coverage after receiving a valid insurance card are numbered.

The goal is to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas, estimated to be between 15-20% of all vehicles on the road. Soon, law enforcement officers and other state entities will have at their fingertips immediate, real-time access to insurance information on a given vehicle and/or driver.

As in most states, Texas law states that a person may not operate a motor vehicle unless financial responsibility is established for that vehicle. Most people do this by buying automobile liability insurance. 

The law currently requires minimum liability limits of $20,000 per injured person, up to a total of $40,000 for everyone injured in an accident, and $15,000 for property damage (known as “20/40/15” coverage). Beginning in April 2008, those minimums will change to 25/50/25 as dictated by the 80th Texas Legislature.