It will depend upon the state laws and systems and possibly on local jurisdictions law enforcement's equipment whether car insurance can be verified when you are stopped for a violation. Some states or jurisdictions may not have the correct system in place or available equipment to check the validity of your insurance card at the time of a violation stop.

In some states they can verify if your insurance card is valid or if you are driving without insurance by checking a state database. For example in California starting Jan. 1, 2006 insurance companies doing business in CA had to start electronically reporting all private-use vehicle (except trailers, off-highway vehicles or boats) liability policies to DMV, both when a policy is issued and/or cancelled.

Since July 1, 2006, California law enforcement agencies have been able to electronically verify if any private-use vehicle is properly insured by accessing the department’s vehicle registration database.

States' Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) vary in how they verify insurance after a traffic violation. It is important to be properly insured though so that you are not caught without insurance. If you showed a police officer an apparently valid insurance card but really was not insured, the DMV could still ultimately find out that you are uninsured.

In most states an insurance company has to notify the DMV if a person's insurance policy is canceled, lapsed or is not valid. When this occurs many states require you to turn in your license plates and if the insurance is not renewed or started up again your driver's license will be suspended. So if your insurance is not valid on your car and your registration has been suspended an officer may find this when they run your plates.

Also if the officer is able to tell that you purposely gave him or her fake insurance information you may receive more citations and penalties than just those for driving without insurance.