It is never advisable to drive even one day without the proper auto insurance on your vehicle since if you were to be in an accident you would be help personally responsible for the damages you caused.
Virginia has a financial responsibility law, Motor Vehicle Code 46.2-706, that requires all Virginia registered motor vehicle owners to have motor vehicle liability insurance or enough money to pay for any losses that may result from an automobile accident.
The vehicle owner can insure the motor vehicle with minimum liability coverage thru a policy issued by an insurance company licensed to do business in Virginia.
The minimum liability coverage is as follows.
- Bodily injury/death of one person $25,000
- Bodily injury/death of two or more persons $50,000
- Property damage $20,000
If liability insurance coverage on a vehicle terminates or cancels during the registration period, the vehicle owner must either re-insure the vehicle, pay the uninsured motor vehicle fee or surrender the license plates to DMV.
Every person applying for registration of a motor vehicle and declaring it to be an insured vehicle faces stiff penalties if the motor vehicle is subsequently found to be uninsured. DMV suspends all driver's license and registration certificates and license plates issued to the owner of the motor vehicle.
These items are suspended until the person pays a $500 statutory fee (collected by DMV and deposited into the Uninsured Motorist Fund), furnishes and maintains proof of financial responsibility (form SR-22) for three years and pays a reinstatement fee, if applicable.
The VA DMV monitors insurance coverage through their insurance verification program which makes use of 4 ways in which to monitor insurance on vehicles. The first is Electronic Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Reporting which requires insurance companies authorized or licensed to do business in Virginia to furnish liability insurance information to DMV electronically. This information is required when insurance policies are canceled, new policies are written and when there are additions to existing polices for motor vehicles registered in Virginia.
Insurance monitoring also occurs through the Suspected Uninsured Accident. This process allows a driver, vehicle owner or a representative to voluntarily file an accident report with DMV and as a part of the report, to indicate there is reason to believe the other vehicle involved in the accident was uninsured
A third monitoring method, the Law Enforcement Notification is initiated when police officers require owners to provide insurance information to DMV. Drivers are issued a form requesting insurance information at roadside checks. DMV issues an order of suspension to vehicle owners who are found uninsured.
The forth and final way to monitor insurance coverages of drivers is through Police Accident Reports. It utilizes police crash reports to identify potentially uninsured individuals.
None of the information we have read from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles or VA Bureau of Insurance give any mention of an allowable amount of time for a lapse in auto insurance coverage. To see if there is any length of time that the state of Virginia permits you to be uninsured before placing the penalties for being an uninsured motorist is placed on your check with the DMV or BOI directly.
If you looking for Virginia auto insurance come to us for free auto insurance quotes.