The state is to become the next to accept digital copies of the card, to be displayed on smartphones.
Drivers in Indiana are about to gain the ability to prove that they have auto insurance by displaying a digital copy of the card on the screen of their smartphones, now that a new bill has passed.
The regulation will become effective as of July 1, 2013, and will make mobile devices into a perfectly allowable format.
This use of smartphones as a way to prove that auto insurance exists represents a meaningful acknowledgement of the importance of technology in coverage laws and practices. Indiana will, at the start of next month, become one of the 24 states that will be allowing electronic proof of coverage at that time.
To show auto insurance coverage, an official app from an insurer will be required.
The state was specific about the acceptable formats through which the auto insurance coverage could be shown on a mobile device. It is not simply a matter of snapping an image of the printed card and displaying it on the device screen. Should drivers wish to use this method, they must have coverage through an insurer that offers this feature through their mobile app.
Not all auto insurance companies have an app, and among those who do, not every one of them have a feature that allows a policyholder to display proof of coverage. This technology issue will be one that will be faced by drivers within the state and could start to represent a competitive edge for the insurers who do provide the option.
According to Vigo County Chief Deputy Clark Cottom, being able to use smartphones to prove auto insurance coverage can be highly beneficial to both police officers and drivers. It can help to make proof cards much faster and easier to locate at times when it must be displayed – such as when the driver has been pulled over – and can assist in lowering the instance of unnecessary tickets and court times.
Cottom pointed out that a great deal of the work that officers do is already performed with the assistance of technology, so he believes that electronic proof of auto insurance is a natural fit into this environment.