What's Going on at the CT DMV?: What You Need to Know About Insurance Coverage and Registration Suspensions
Starting in the fall, law enforcement started pulling over some drivers in Connecticut, ticketing or fining them for suspended registration related to a supposed lapse in insurance coverage.
This issue went on for about three months, until an NBC Connecticut Troubleshooters investigation discovered a glitch with the Connecticut DMV’s new software coding. At the time, the DMV began mailing out letters for suspended registration in August before employees went on break; when the offices opened after, a backlog developed. Because of these factors, the DMV sent out roughly 10,000 letters per month stating the driver’s registration had been suspended. The code was then fixed on December 23rd.
In the process, many state drivers who were properly insured were falsely fined.
According to recent reports, the DMV has started to remedy the situation, first by halting the list of suspended registrations it sends along to law enforcement officials. Then, the DMV has shifted some of its staff to its insurance compliance unit to begin making way through the backlog.
Regarding this issue, DMV Commissioner Andres Ayala, Jr., told the press, “The state of Connecticut does not want citizens fearing to drive their cars because they have been told erroneously by DMV they have no insurance and their registrations have been suspended.”
Were you erroneously fined while having sufficient car insurance? To assist those ticketed, the DMV has stated drivers with continuous insurance coverage fined between August 18th, 2015 and January 9th, 2016 are eligible for a refund and may further be reimbursed for the $200 insurance compliance fine, tickets, and towing fees. As well, the DMV also plans to issue letters for court appearances, stating they suspended the driver’s registration in error.
Drivers seeking reimbursement must prove they had continuous coverage over this period. To learn more, follow the DMV’s instructions.
