61-6-157. Creation of online motor vehicle liability insurance verification system. (1) The department, in cooperation with the commissioner of insurance, shall establish an accessible common carrier-based motor vehicle insurance verification system to verify the compliance of a motor vehicle owner or operator with motor vehicle liability policy requirements under 61-6-103, 61-6-301, and 61-6-302 and facilitate or monitor proof of financial responsibility filings under 61-6-133 and 61-6-134.

(2) The department may contract with a private vendor or vendors to establish and maintain the system.

(3) The system must:

(a) send requests to insurers for verification of motor vehicle liability insurance using electronic services established by the insurers, through the internet, world wide web, or a similar proprietary or common carrier electronic system in compliance with the specifications and standards of the insurance industry committee on motor vehicle administration and other applicable industry standards;

(b) include appropriate provisions to secure its data against unauthorized access and to maintain a record of all requests and responses;

(c) be accessible, without fee, to authorized personnel of the department, the courts, law enforcement personnel, county treasurers, and authorized agents under the provisions of 61-3-116;

(d) interface, wherever possible, with existing department and law enforcement systems;

(e) receive insurance data file transfers from insurers under specifications and standards set forth in subsection (3)(a) to identify vehicles that are not covered by an insurance policy;

(f) provide a means by which low-volume insurers that are unable to deploy an online interface with the system can report insurance policy data to the department or its designee for inclusion in the system;

(g) provide a means to track separately or distinguish motor vehicles that are subject to a certificate of self-insurance under 61-6-143, a surety or indemnity bond under 61-6-137, or a deposit of cash or securities under 61-6-138;

(h) be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, subject to reasonable allowances for scheduled maintenance or temporary system failures, to verify the insurance status of any vehicle in a manner prescribed by the department; and

(i) be used only for information-gathering and educational purposes until the completion of an appropriate testing period of not less than 6 months.

(4) The provisions of Title 2, chapter 6, parts 10 and 11, do not apply to the information contained in the verification system.

(5) Every insurer shall cooperate with the department in establishing and maintaining the system and shall provide access to motor vehicle liability policy status information to verify liability coverage:

(a) for a vehicle insured by that company that is registered in this state; and

(b) if available, for a vehicle that is insured by that company or that is operated in this state and that is the subject of an accident investigation regardless of where the vehicle is registered.