Delaware Test Validates Auto Insurance Verification System

June 5, 2002

A recent test in Delaware has confirmed the viability of a new automobile insurance verification system invented by InsureNet USA Inc.

“The InsureNet® system enables authorities to ascertain the actual real-time status of a vehicle’s insurance policy on the spot. This is the first time that a police officer for example, can be certain, at road side, that an insurance policy is current and valid on an up-to-the-minute basis,” said the company’s announcement.

It described the technology as “using smart card technology, mobile card readers, cellular communications and a secure verification system. The smart card bears a chip, which is encrypted with 3DES security so it is virtually impossible to copy or tamper with. The card readers can be used in Police vehicles, courthouses, DMV offices, or anywhere else that real-time status of driver insurance is required. The system can also support the use of bar codes, radio readers, touch-tone telephones and other technologies.”

The verification system is designed to identify the estimated twenty percent of the nation’s 240 million vehicles, (almost 48 million), that are driven by uninsured motorists. “The cost to the nation’s drivers in uninsured motorist insurance, fraud, and accident losses is in the tens of billions. The cost to the community of fraudulent insurance documents is immeasurable,” InsureNet said.

A second series of tests is being scheduled in Delaware, which will use a police vehicle in three different locations throughout the State to verify the insurance status of one hundred vehicle smart cards. “All of the cards in the first test accurately reported the real-time status of the simulated policy without exception. In actual practice this would allow the officer to take appropriate action to impound the vehicle, issue a ticket, or make an arrest,” said the bulletin.