While other types of insurance, life or health, may allow a grace period for your policy, auto insurance does not. In Tennessee there are insurance laws in place that regulate how an insurer must inform you of a cancellation due to non-payment, etc but not that there is any type of grace period that must be extended to a policyholder because of past due amount.

Section 56-7-1303 of the Tennessee Code gives information on the notice of cancellation an auto insurance company must give to the policyholder that they insure. Here it notes -

(a) (1) No notice of cancellation of a policy shall be effective unless mailed or delivered by the insurer, its authorized agent or employee, to the named insured as shown in the policy declarations at the address shown in such declarations, stating when not less than twenty (20) days thereafter such cancellation shall be effective; provided, that:

(A) If the cancellation is due to nonpayment as herein before defined; or

(B) If the policy has been in effect than 60 days and is not a renewal policy;

The policy may be cancelled by the company by mailing to such insured written notice stating when not less than 10 days thereafter such cancellation shall be effective.

(2) The mailing of such notice shall be sufficient proof of notice.

(3) The effective date and hour of cancellation stated in the notice shall become the end of the policy period unless the insured surrenders the policy and requests cancellation prior to the date and hour specified in the cancellation notice.

If your auto insurance policy cancelled due to non-payment you need to try to get your policy reinstated or obtain insurance on your car from a new insurance provider or face penalties.

According to a 2006 study by the Insurance Research Council more than one in five licensed drivers in Tennessee do not have insurance. Tennessee had the nation's sixth-highest percentage of uninsured drivers at 21.2 percent. The nationwide figure was 14.6 percent

Tennessee state law requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability limits of $25,000 per injured person up to a total of $50,000 per accident, and Property Damage Liability coverage with a minimum limit of $10,000. This basic coverage is often referred to as 25/50/10 coverage.

Judges in TN have leeway on how to handle motorists cited for driving without insurance. Judges tend to allow some leniency if drivers have purchased insurance after getting a ticket, or if they did not have proof but do have a current policy. It appears that judges can use their discretion with uninsured motorist tickets and can dismiss the citation if the person was driving without insurance but obtained auto insurance before the court date. The citation can be dismissed but court costs will still be assessed.

T.C.A. 55-12-140 requires the court to report the dismissal of violations of failure to provide evidence of financial responsibility under 55-12-139, if the charge was dismissed because the person obtained evidence of financial responsibility prior to the court's disposition. The department will place a STOP on your vehicle file and not issue a renewal of registration for any vehicle for which evidence of financial responsibility is required under 55-12-139. This applies to drivers with cases dismissed because of obtaining the evidence of financial responsibility prior to the court's disposition and drivers suspended because of conviction.

The TN legislative branch has discussed getting harsher penalties in the books for driving without insurance since there are so many uninsured drivers on the roadway. Don’t be caught without insurance or let your insurance lapse for too long. If you do then you will have to face fines and other penalties plus find it harder to obtain auto insurance. Get auto insurance quotes online here.