Senate Bill No. 175
(By Senators Wiedebusch and Anderson)
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[Introduced January 25, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Transportation.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article two-a, chapter
seventeen-d of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the certificate
of insurance to be affixed to motor vehicle windshields; and
criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article two-a, chapter seventeen-d of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2A. SECURITY UPON MOTOR VEHICLES.
§17D-2A-4. Certificate of insurance.
(a) All insurance carriers transacting insurance in this
state shall supply a certificate to the insured or to any person
subject to the registration provisions of article three, chapter
seventeen-a of this code, certifying that there is in effect a
motor vehicle liability policy upon
such the motor vehicle in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter
seventeen-a of this code.
The certificate shall give its
effective date and the effective date of the policy and, unless
the policy is issued to a person who is not the owner of a motor
vehicle, must designate by explicit description, in such detail
as the commissioner of the department of motor vehicles shall by
rule require, all motor vehicles covered and all replacement
vehicles of similar classification: Provided, That on and after
the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four,
insurance companies shall supply a certificate of insurance in
duplicate for each policy term and for each vehicle included in
a policy, except for those listed in a fleet policy. Each such
certificate of insurance shall list the name of the policyholder
and the name of the vehicle owner if different from the
policyholder.
The certificate must specify for each vehicle listed
therein, that there is a minimum liability insurance coverage not
less than the requirements of section two, article four, chapter
seventeen-d of this code.
(b) The certificate provided pursuant to the provisions of
this section or other proof of insurance shall be carried by the
insured in the appropriate vehicle for use as proof of security,
and must be presented at the time of vehicle inspection as
required by article sixteen, chapter seventeen-c of this code:
Provided, That an insured shall not be guilty of a violation of this subsection (b) if he furnishes proof that such insurance was
in effect within seven days of being cited for not carrying such
certificate or other proof in such vehicle. As used in this
section, proof of insurance means a certificate of insurance, an
insurance policy, a mechanically reproduced copy of an insurance
policy, a certificate of self-insurance, or a copy of the current
registration issued to a motor carrier by the public service
commission (1) through the single state registration system
established pursuant to section section fourteen, article six-a,
chapter twenty-four-a of this code; or (2) pursuant to the
provisions of section four, article six, chapter twenty-four-a of
this code. The certificate of insurance shall be a decal to be
affixed to the windshield of a motor vehicle and shall contain
the serial number and make and model of the insured vehicle, and
a number, one through twelve, which identifies the month of
purchase of liability insurance. The certificate of insurance
shall be color coded to identify the length of purchase of
insurance coverage with the color red to identify insurance
coverage purchased for a period of three months, the color blue
to identify insurance coverage purchased for a period of six
months and the color green to identify insurance coverage
purchased for a period of one year. A certificate of insurance
mandated by this article shall be provided for each vehicle
insured.
(b) All certificates of insurance issued pursuant to this section shall be the property of the state and shall be affixed
by the owner of the vehicle covered by the required security only
during the time as the security which it represents remains in
full force and effect. Every vehicle owner shall immediately
remove from the vehicle any certificate of insurance representing
security which he or she knows has been terminated, canceled,
impaired or is otherwise ineffective to serve as security for the
vehicle.
(c) Every vehicle owner meeting the security requirements of
this article through the purchase of a contract of insurance
shall obtain within thirty days a certificate of insurance
evidencing the security from the authorized insurance company or
its authorized agent with which he or she has contracted for the
security. The commissioner shall furnish or authorize for each
insurer sufficient quantities of certificates of insurance as
they may require for each vehicle which the insurer reasonably
expects to insure during each period for which its policies of
insurance are expected to be in force.
(d) Every authorized insurance company which cancels or
refuses to renew any contract of insurance on any vehicle insured
by it for any vehicle owner prior to the normal expiration date
of the certificate of insurance which it has furnished the owner
for the vehicle shall notify the owner of the date which the
certificate of insurance will no longer be in full force and
effect and should be removed from the vehicle.
(e) Every authorized insurance company which cancels any
contract of insurance shall provide the insured, as well as the
superintendent of the division of public safety, notice of the
cancellation.
(f) Every authorized insurance company shall provide notice
of cancellation to the superintendent of the division of public
safety within thirty days following the voluntary cancellation of
a policy of insurance by a policyholder during the policy period.
(g) Every authorized insurer shall, upon the request of the
commissioner of the division of motor vehicles, furnish to the
commissioner with regard to any numbered certificate of insurance
furnished by it, the name of the owner for whom the security was
provided, the vehicle insured by the security and the beginning
and ending dates during which the security was in full force and
effect.
(h) Upon complaint by any person filed with the commissioner
on a form to be prescribed by him alleging that any certificate
of insurance was improperly affixed to any vehicle because the
security therefor was not then in full force and effect, the
commissioner shall determine the probable validity of the
complaint by inquiry pursuant to subsection (g) of this section
and shall certify the results of his findings to the complainant
and, if the security was not in full force and effect on the date
alleged, shall send a copy thereof to the superintendent of the
division of public safety, who shall enforce the penalties provided in this section.
(i) The commissioner may by rule provide for:
(1) A temporary certificate of insurance which may be
displayed in lieu of the original or permanent decal or
certificate of insurance required by this section for a period
not to exceed thirty days, during which time the owner of the
vehicle shall secure the permanent decal or certificate of
insurance required by this section; or
(2) Every motor vehicle dealer or owner of more than five
motor vehicles providing the required security under an insurance
policy that provides automatic coverage for all owned vehicles
may be furnished a supply sufficient for his needs of
certificates of insurance or other evidence of security by his or
her insurer. A certificate of insurance evidencing coverage by
a motor vehicle dealer shall not expire until that dealer ceases
to own the vehicle or ceases to maintain insurance coverage.
(j) All state, city and county police officers shall issue
a citation for violation of this section to the owner or operator
of any vehicle which has neither a current certificate of
insurance affixed thereto or a temporary certificate of insurance
as required by this section.
(k) The owner of any vehicle who fails to have in full force
and effect security required by this section and who does not
have any certificate of insurance affixed to the vehicle is
guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred
dollars and shall have the license plates thereof suspended for
a period of thirty days or until such time thereafter as proof,
in a form satisfactory to the commissioner, is furnished that
security is then and will remain in effect.
(l) The owner of any vehicle who fails to have in full force
and effect the security required by this section and who has
affixed to the vehicle a certificate of insurance which he or she
knows is not in full force and effect is guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than fifty
dollars nor more than five hundred dollars and shall have the
license plates of the vehicle suspended for a period of ninety
days or until such time thereafter as proof, in a form
satisfactory to the commissioner, is furnished that security is
then and will remain in effect.
(m) The owner of any vehicle who fails to have in full force
and effect the security required by this section and who has
affixed to the vehicle a certificate of insurance which he or she
knows is fraudulent or counterfeit is guilty of a misdemeanor,
and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five
hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars and shall have
the license plates of the vehicle suspended for a period of one
year or until such time thereafter as proof, in a form
satisfactory to the commissioner, is furnished that security is
then and will remain in effect.
(n) Any person who fraudulently distributes any certificate
of insurance or temporary certificate of insurance or who
knowingly distributes a counterfeit certificate of insurance to
any person for any vehicle is guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon
conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than five hundred
dollars nor more than one thousand dollars or confined to the
county jail for a period not to exceed thirty days or both fined
and confined.
(o) An insured is not guilty of a violation of this section
if, within seven days of being cited for the violation, he or she
furnishes proof that insurance was in full force and effect at
the time of the citation. As used in this section, proof of
insurance means a decal, an insurance policy, a mechanically
reproduced copy of an insurance policy, or a certificate of self
insurance.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require color coded
certificates of insurance to be placed on the windshield of the
insured motor vehicle and to provide penalties for violations of
this section.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.