Thursday, June 28, 2001

NY - Insurance glitches upset motorists By Anthony Farmer Poughkeepsie Journal

Brad Warren bought a Ford Mustang convertible last August and, as required by law, purchased insurance for his vehicle. So the 18-year-old was surprised after being pulled over while driving home in the early morning hours of June 15 on Myers Corners Road. He was told his registration was suspended for not having proper insurance.

The officer pulled Warren over because the light around his license plate was red instead of white.

Warren told the state trooper he had insurance and showed him a valid insurance card. The officer said there was nothing he could do.

''I didn't know what to do,'' Warren said. ''I didn't want to get my car towed, which ended up happening anyway.''

Warren is another victim of a computerized insurance tracking system instituted last year by the state Department of Motor Vehicles.

The system is intended to help keep uninsured motorists off the road, but numerous drivers in the mid-Hudson Valley and around the state have complained that they erroneously show up in the system as being uninsured.

Many blame the state DMV for the glitches, but the DMV points the finger at insurance companies for failing to report information on their customers in a timely fashion.

The finger-pointing hasn't helped people such as Warren, who are left with bills for having their cars towed, for getting the vehicles out of impound lots and for fines.

Warren has a court date on July 11 to answer a charge of operating with a suspended registration, a misdemeanor.

DMV officials contend Warren is partly to blame for his own problems.

A department spokesman said records show that a letter was sent to Warren to warn him of the pending suspension in September, but he never responded. That letter was sent after Warren's insurance company notified DMV that his insurance took effect Sept. 9 -- more than a month after the vehicle was registered, said DMV spokesman Joe Picchi.

''It was because of the insurance company's failure to do their job,'' Picchi said. ''Ninety-nine percent of all the problems we get are from a lack of compliance by the insurance companies.''

Warren said he doesn't recall ever receiving such a letter from DMV.

Picchi said the suspension of Warren's registration was rescinded Sunday, a day after the insurance company electronically submitted the correct date of coverage.

Insurance companies argue that the state is failing to address problems inherent in its new computerized system and the drivers aren't at fault.

''It's the system's fault, and it's not working properly,'' said Bernie Bourdeau, president of the New York Insurance Association Inc. ''The system is totally impersonal.''

Warren's mother, Donna Williams, said situations such as her son's should never occur.

''There was never a lapse in coverage and that's not good enough for anybody,'' Williams said. ''It's a scary situation.''

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/today/community/stories/co062801s3.shtml

-- Anonymous, June 29, 2001

Answers

NY DMV's first Y2K glitch was the horseless
carriage designations. I think that was NY.

-- Anonymous, July 02, 2001