R.I. Issues Bulletin on Implementing Auto Insurance Verification System

Rhode Island regulators recently issued a bulletin notifying the state’s auto insurers of their filing requirements and deadlines for the Rhode Island Insurance Verification System (RIIVS) to track uninsured motorists.

The RIIVS and insurers’ filing requirements follow the R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-47.4, (“Uninsured Motorist Identification Database Procedure”) which was signed into law last year and is scheduled to take effect on July 1.

As a result of 2013 legislation, Rhode Island will soon begin to track uninsured motorists via insurers’ book of business (BOB) reporting, Rhode Island’s department of business regulation, insurance division, stated. (Insurers still have until Sept. 5 to submit a test BOB file to the RIIVS and have until Nov. 7 to begin submitting monthly production BOB files.)

The RIIVS is being implemented by the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles. The vendor contract for administering the database was awarded to MV Solutions.

According to studies published by the Insurance Research Council, Rhode Island has been reported to have an 18 percent uninsured motorist rate.

In a bulletin issued on May 9, Joseph Torti III, Rhode Island’s superintendent of insurance, listed the following key components of the RIIVS participation for insurers:

• Each insurer that is licensed to issue motor vehicle liability policies in Rhode Island shall register with the RIIVS;

• Each insurer that issues a policy that includes motor vehicle liability coverage in Rhode Island shall — before the seventh calendar day of each month — submit to the RIIVS the book of business (BOB) data containing a record of each motor vehicle liability insurance policy in effect for vehicles registered or garaged in Rhode Island;

• Each insurance policy record provided by the insurer shall include all vehicles covered by the policy and all insured owners and operators;

• Unless an insurer provides coverage for less than 50 private passenger vehicles registered in Rhode Island, insurers must submit BOB data to the RIIVS via the file transfer protocol (FTP) process. A web transaction will be provided for BOB reporting by small insurers with less than 50 private passenger vehicles on the RIIVS website; and

• Vehicles insured under commercial auto coverage are exempt from the program, but insurers may submit data for these policies on a voluntary basis. Reporting of these policies is not mandatory but is highly encouraged.

R.I. Gen. Laws § 31-47.4 takes effect on July 1. However, to allow insurance companies sufficient time to comply with the law, regulators have issued the following deadlines for insurers:

• By June 16, 2014 – Register on the RIIVS website
• By Sept. 5, 2014 – Submit a test BOB file to the RIIVS.
• By Nov. 7, 2014 – Begin submitting monthly production BOB files to the RIIVS.

Source: The Rhode Island Insurance Division

Topics Carriers Auto