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Florida Drivers Can Soon Use Smartphones To Show Proof Of Insurance

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Florida drivers are required to carry proof of insurance.

Those who are pulled over in Miami-Dade County and can’t show proof of coverage will get a $129 ticket. (It drops to $10 if proof is provided with 30 days that the driver had insurance at the time of the citation.)

That typically means carrying the proof – a piece of paper or a card – in your wallet or vehicle. But now, Florida is ready to join more than two dozen other states that have approved using 21st-Century technology that most people have with them all the time.

Legislation passed this year allows drivers to use an electronic device -- like a smartphone -- as proof of insurance. More than 300,000 citations were issued to drivers in Florida last year that couldn’t flash their insurance card.

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has gotten approval from the Florida Cabinet to let the public know about the rule change. The new policy should be in place by January.

Highway Safety drector Julie Jones told reporters the change will enable drivers to prove they have insurance even when they’re in a different vehicle.

It's not just smartphones that will work. Drivers will be able to use any number of electronic devices to show proof, like tablets and laptops.

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