SAN ANTONIO–The National Association of Insurance Commissioners gave preliminary approval to standards for monitoring compulsory insurance laws.

The action came at the group's winter meeting here earlier this week.

David Snyder, American Insurance Association assistant vice president, said the Uninsured Motorists Working Group members had navigated many interests in producing the final report.

“The report emphasizes that for effective insurance verification programs, there must be close collaboration between government and insurers for a cost-effective approach,” he said.

The group then disbanded after deciding not to pursue either a model law or regulation.

In the technology area, the group decided not to recommend any one program to report offending motorists, but to “allow the use of any results that are accurate, reliable and cost-efficient.”

The report asserted that a lack of accurate data presents the greatest challenge in finding uninsured motorists. Regulators face differences in auto insurance reparation systems as well as insurance verification protocols.

The group recommended the following common data elements:

o Vehicle Identification Number

o Insurer NAIC number

o Policy number providing coverage for the vehicle

o Vehicle licensing number and issuing state

o Name and address of vehicle owner

As for enforcement, the report said that it “needs to include all stakeholders of state compulsory and financial responsibility laws such as insurance producers, lien holders, vehicle inspection stations and other interested third parties.”

Accessibility to accurate data will also be key to any insurance monitoring effort. The group recommended that reporting systems should follow formats such as XML protocols and industry standard data procedures, ensuring the information is easily shared.

Special Reports /

NAIC OKs Compulsory Monitoring Standards

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