The Insurance Research Council (IRC) estimated Oklahoma’s uninsured driver rate to be 26 percent in 2012, the highest in any state. Though this most recent estimate is five years old, there is little evidence the rate has dropped significantly.
In an attempt to lower the uninsured motorist rate, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin signed Senate Bill 115 into law in April 2017, transferring responsibility for the state’s insurance verification system from the Department of Public Safety to the Oklahoma Insurance Department. The Insurance Department plans to hire a vendor to modernize the current verification system with a target go-live date of mid-2018. The department hopes to build a web-based system that verifies auto insurance coverage in real time, in accordance with guidelines set by the Insurance Industry Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration (IICMVA).
S.B. 115 also provides for the insurance commissioner to initiate proceedings against any carrier not in compliance with reporting auto liability insurance to the state.