Can You Use a Digital Car Insurance Card
Digital Insurance Cards
Recently published statistics revealed that the United States has 203 million insured cars. That's because almost all these states require auto insurance. Failure to show proof of car insurance could result in license suspension and fines.
But which states require or allow digital proof of insurance? And do law enforcement officials and insurance companies accept an app as an insurance ID card? Here is what we will cover about digital insurance cards.
- How to install and use them
- Which states accept them
- Whether they affect your insurance
- Can you use them at the DMV?
What is a Digital Insurance Card?
A digital insurance card is an electronic copy of your car insurance, proof of insurance. You display it on your smartphone during routine traffic stops or whenever you need to show your proof of auto insurance.
Using a digital insurance card enables drivers to verify their insurance coverage with the police, during a car accident, and at the DMV in lieu of using a paper auto insurance card.
Digital Insurance Card Pros and Cons
Many factors fuel the popularity of this concept.
Pros
- Safety. Using a digital insurance card helps both drivers and law officials. For example, a cop won't have to worry about a driver pulling a weapon out of their glove box, and the driver feels safer with a less tense or aggressive police officer.
- Reduces Traffic Tickets. It cuts back on proof of insurance tickets. After all, many people lose their paper proof of insurance every year and end up with tickets.
- Keeps the Driver's Insurance Card Current. Digital options give car owners an automatically updated proof of insurance without remembering to put a new card in the car each year.
- Easy Data Sharing in Accidents. In the olden days, drivers wrote down the other driver's insurance information. Now they can ask for the driver to take a screenshot and text it to them or take a pic of the driver's phone and electronic insurance card.
- DMV. You could use your digital insurance card at the DMV if you forgot to bring your paper copy or don't want to carry it.
Cons
There are downsides of a digital insurance card, such as:
- Other Drivers. Someone else driving your car without your smartphone or your digital card cannot show proof of insurance if they get pulled over by a traffic cop.
- Phone Not in Car. What if you forgot your phone? If you do not have your physical auto insurance card in the vehicle, you have no way to show you have car insurance if you get pulled over.
- Dead Battery. Your phone runs out of battery, now what? The police officer will not wait for you to recharge. Again, if you do not have your physical auto insurance card in the vehicle, you have no way to show you have car insurance if you get pulled over.
- No Internet. Your phone cannot get an internet connection. Again, what if you do not have your physical card in the car?
- Cop Brings Your Phone to the Police Car. The police officer may want to bring your proof of insurance to the police car, which means s/he also takes your phone. You may need to use your phone while s/he is checking your credentials. Or you may wish to video the traffic stop, in which case giving the phone interrupts you're taping. Or you may want to safeguard other personal information stored on your phone "just in case."
- Identity Theft. If you lose your phone, the proof of insurance is personal information to which you may want protection from identity theft, and it will not be with a digital insurance card.
These issues are easily remedied by always having a physical backup card in the glove box. To mitigate internet connection issues, have a backup copy of your card in your phone's photos collection.
How Do Digital Insurance Cards Work?
Digital insurance cards create a streamlined, easy, and fast way to display proof of insurance on your mobile device instead of using a paper auto insurance card. For example, you can show a police officer or others digital proof of insurance with your phone.
How to Install Your Digital Insurance Card on your Smartphone
There are numerous acceptable options to add your digital insurance ID card to your smartphone. They include:
- Your Smartphone's Photo App. Scanned, emailed, downloaded, or pictures of your insurance card in your smartphone's photo app. Unless you've added password protection to your photos, this option has less security . It is also harder to find as you must scroll through potentially many pics to find it . You can use this option with no internet access.
- Your Insurance Company's Mobile App. A digital copy of your insurance card in your insurance company's mobile password-protected app. Most of these require internet access.
- Your Smartphone's Wallet App. You can show a copy of your auto insurance card in your smartphone's wallet app. You can use Apple Wallet, Google Pay, or most wallet apps found in your phone's app store. They are all password-protected apps. Apple Pay and Google Pay require internet access ; others may too.
- A Mobile Card App. Apps like Folio, Stocard, and Pass4Wallet allow you to take a picture of your card to keep in the password-protected app. You can also store loyalty reward store cards, your drivers' license, etc. Most of these can be used with no internet access.
- Create Your Own. You can even create your own digital insurance card icon on the home page of your phone. That link shows you how to do it with your vaccination card, but you can do the same with your car insurance card. Click it and show your digital insurance card.
This method is an easy way to quickly get to your card without fumbling around with an app. It works without internet access, and you can password protect it or not.
What is the best option? Your car insurance company may not have an app suitable for your phone. Or you may lose internet coverage on the road, making it impossible to display your digital card. You probably also want to password-protect whatever app you use to improve your digital security.
Our Recommendation
We recommend scanning your card to your own icon or a mobile card app. These two options always keep your card password-protected and available - even when offline.
Using a digital insurance solution is less stressful during a traffic stop because you can just use your fingerprint to open the app and show your card. You can even store your drivers' license in the same place.
How to Add Insurance Card to Apple Wallet
Open Apple Wallet and tap the + sign in the upper right corner. Now, select "Insurance" from the list of available options. Next, read the screen prompts and hold your auto insurance card up to the iPhone's scanner. The scanner reads your insurance card.
When finished, the app alerts you that your card is now scanned. Now, you can open your wallet to show your insurance identification card.
Can I Show Proof of Insurance on a Smartphone?
Yes. You can use your phone to prove your proof of insurance to law enforcement officers in all 50 states.
States That Accept Electronic Proof of Insurance
Currently, Washington D.C. and all states require police to accept digital insurance. No laws allow police officers to refuse digital insurance cards, so officers cannot refuse to accept digital insurance cards.
Do Digital Insurance Cards Affect Premiums or Coverage?
No.Digital insurance cards do not cost extra to make and won't affect your premiumsas a driver. But factors like your level of coverage, your state, and past accidents do affect your policy. For instance, a multiple-car crash will likely increase your premiums. But the use and implementation of digital insurance cards will not.
Can You Use Digital Insurance Cards When Registering a Vehicle at the DMV?
Yes, most DMV offices accept digital insurance cards when registering your vehicle. Make sure your car insurance policy is up to date before using digital insurance cards. You can then use your cell phone if:
- You lose your insurance paperwork
- Need to hurry and can't print out a paper copy
- Don't know how to find another paper copy
Get a Car Insurance Quote
Are you confused about your insurance? Don't understand digital cards? Need help finding a policy that doesn't make your head spin?
Reach out to us for an auto insurance quote comparison. We'll compare the top 40+ car insurance prices and coverages to help you find the best policy for you.
We can give you a quote on a new policy or help you better understand your current coverage. We are a licensed auto insurance agency in all 50 states, and you can trust our expert agents to get the best results.
We will cut through the confusion, give better prices, and explain your policy options. And, we'll help you get started with a digital insurance card if you want to use one.
Start by getting a car insurance comparison quote below.
Hope that helps!
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Young Alfred
Can You Use a Digital Car Insurance Card
Source: https://www.youngalfred.com/homeowners-insurance/digital-insurance-cards