(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles;

(2) “Database” means the database supported by the Online Insurance Verification System;

(3) “Department” means the Department of Motor Vehicles;

(4) “Insurer” means an insurance company that is authorized to issue motor vehicle liability insurance policies in this state; and

(5) “System” means the Online Insurance Verification System.

(b) The department shall establish the Online Insurance Verification System for the purposes of (1) verifying that a motor vehicle owner or operator has procured and maintained the security coverage required pursuant to sections 14-112 and 38a-371, (2) providing the commissioner and insurers with an effective method for complying with this chapter and chapters 248 and 700, and (3) reducing the number of uninsured motor vehicles on the highways of the state. The system shall be available, at all times and in the manner prescribed by the department, to allow state and local law enforcement agencies and any government agency authorized for system access by the commissioner to verify the security coverage of any motor vehicle.

(c) (1) The system shall include (A) the owner and vehicle information for all active registrations, provided by the department, and (B) a record of each motor vehicle insurance policy in effect, provided by each insurer in accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection.

(2) Each insurer shall, each month on a date specified by the commissioner, submit to the department a record of each motor vehicle insurance policy in effect for vehicles registered or garaged in the state as of the date of such submission. Each insurer that issues commercial fleet policies may satisfy this requirement by providing the fleet policy number that covers the vehicles of its insured. The record provided by an insurer shall be in a format and contain the data as specified by the department. Such record shall be provided by electronic means or by another form approved by the department. An insurer may submit more frequent reports than once monthly, if it so chooses.

(3) With the information provided pursuant to this subsection, the department shall, at least monthly: (A) Update the database with the records provided by insurers pursuant to section 38a-343a and subdivision (2) of this subsection; (B) match the department information of owner and vehicle information for all active registrations with the records submitted by insurers; and (C) compare all current motor vehicle registrations against the records submitted by insurers.

(d) Each insurer shall be required to establish an online web service, accessible through the system, to verify the insurance of a vehicle in real time. At its discretion, the department may establish alternate methods for verifying commercial vehicle liability insurance policies or liability policies issued by insurers who write fewer than a threshold number of policies, as established by the commissioner in consultation with the Insurance Commissioner and insurers.

(e) The system shall (1) be capable of sending requests to insurers for verification of motor vehicle liability insurance, using online web services established by insurers as required pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, (2) allow state and local law enforcement agencies to access the database in real time, and (3) generate reports that may be useful for the implementation of the purposes of this section, as determined by the commissioner.

(f) The commissioner may enter into an agreement with a private third-party vendor to develop and maintain the system established pursuant to this section, under the direction and management of the department, provided such vendor has entered into an agreement to protect the confidentiality of the information and data contained within the system.

(g) (1) The Department of Motor Vehicles may use the information contained in the database for the administration and enforcement of this chapter and chapters 248 and 700.

(2) All information contained in the database shall be treated as a motor vehicle record, as defined in section 14-10, and shall not be disclosed except as permitted under section 14-10 and 18 USC 2721 et seq., as amended from time to time.

(h) (1) An insurer shall not be liable to any person for information the insurer provides to the department or to a third-party vendor in compliance with this section, including information an insurer may provide or omit erroneously in good faith.

(2) The state, the department and a third-party vendor shall not be liable to any person for gathering, managing or using the information in the database, provided such actions are in compliance with this section.

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5, S. 229.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 15-5 effective June 30, 2015.