In 2008 the State of Texas implemented a new technology program that allows law enforcement officers and designated state users to immediately verify whether a person has car insurance. This new TX Financial Responsibility Verification Program (FRVP) was a joint project mandated by the Texas Legislature and developed by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI), the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), and the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR).

The goal of the program is to reduce the number of uninsured motorists in Texas by stopping those that use fraudulent or false insurance cards or those that dropped coverage after receiving their valid auto insurance card. Yes, this new verification system gives law enforcement officers and other state users real-time immediate access to insurance information on a given vehicle and/or driver at their fingertips.

How the verification system works is that if you have established financial responsibility through an automobile insurance policy, your insurer will report that information for you so that it is available to the FRVP. You may wish to verify that the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) physically showing on your vehicle is the same as that shown on both your insurance policy and vehicle title and registration. If TxDOT finds a discrepancy between the insurance records they have received in and the vehicle records they maintain the DOT may contact you in order to resolve it.

FRVP users include the DPS, sheriffs, local police, vehicle registration offices, and vehicle inspection stations. These users will be able to obtain accurate and timely insurance information on a given vehicle and/or driver promptly upon request. For example, once the system is fully implemented law enforcement officers will be able to electronically confirm whether or not a registered vehicle or motorist has insurance coverage in effect.

This program does not change the law that requires paper proof of insurance so an insurance card should still be carried by the driver of any vehicle. While the objective of this program is to provide accurate and timely proof of insurance via an electronic database system, it is still required by law (601.053 of the Texas Transportation Code) to make available current effective paper proof of insurance upon request.

Texas law requires “the motorist or operator of a vehicle to provide evidence of financial responsibility,” and the Texas FRVP does not alter this responsibility of the car driver to show their insurance card as proof of insurance. This program is designed to detect whether a registered vehicle and/or motorist is shown as being covered under a current automobile insurance policy. If a person does not show an insurance card it will be up to the individual law enforcement officer to determine if the program provides sufficient proof of insurance in the absence of a proof of insurance. So the FRVP checks the vehicle and/or motorist (if they are not on the vehicle's insurance card) is covered by auto insurance as required by law.

Texas law states that a person may not operate a motor vehicle in this state unless financial responsibility is established for that vehicle. Most people do this by buying automobile liability insurance. The law currently requires minimum coverage of $20,000 per injured person, up to a total of $40,000 for everyone injured in an accident, and $15,000 for property damage (20/40/15 coverage). However as of April 1, 2008, the minimum required liability limits increased to $25,000 per injured person, $50,000 for everyone injured in an accident, and $25,000 for property damage (25/50/25).