Kansas committee hears bill to create real‑time motor vehicle insurance verification system

Members of the Kansas Senate Committee on Insurance heard proponent testimony on House Bill 2,047 on the bill’s proposal to establish an online verification system to confirm motor vehicle liability insurance.

Eileen (committee reviser) told the committee that House Bill 2,047 would create the Kansas Real‑Time Motor Vehicle Insurance Verification Act and require the insurance commissioner to establish an online system cross‑referenced with vehicle identification numbers to verify proof of coverage. "House Bill 2,047 is the bill that provides for the establishment of an online verification system for the verification of evidence of motor vehicle liability insurance," she said.

The bill’s supporters said the system would address a persistent uninsured motorist problem in Kansas. Mandy Rowe, chief of staff for the Kansas Department of Insurance, said the department estimates roughly 8 percent of vehicles in Kansas are uninsured and cited a 2021–2022 data call that found insurers paid about $51,000,000 over two years on claims involving uninsured motorists. "We believe this will help reduce that number and help reduce the out of pocket expenses that everyday Kansans are paying because of uninsured motorists," Rowe said.

Law enforcement organizations backed the bill. Ed Klomp, representing the Kansas Association of Chiefs of Police, the Kansas Sheriffs Association and the Kansas Peace Officers Association, noted the House added a provision — new section 10 — stating that establishing compliance via the verification system "shall not be a primary" reason for law enforcement to stop a vehicle. Klomp said his groups "have absolutely no problem with that."

Sergeant Matt Blassingame of the Topeka Police Department, testifying for the Fraternal Order of Police, said the system would help officers confirm whether a driver’s insurance card represents active coverage. "This would allow us to identify whether they actually have insurance at that time," he said, adding it would also spare drivers who do have coverage the inconvenience of going to court to dismiss an incorrect citation.

Committee members asked operational and privacy questions. Senator Haley asked whether the system would verify out‑of‑state insurance, noting border counties where drivers have policies issued by Missouri or other states. Blassingame and Eileen said the committee did not have a definitive answer on how out‑of‑state policies would be handled by the new system; Eileen said the bill applies to insurers who insure vehicles in Kansas and that commercial vehicles are not covered by the proposed law.

Senator Warren raised a privacy concern about a catch‑all clause in the Senate version of the bill that would allow the commissioner or the Kansas Department of Revenue to require "any other information required by the Commissioner or KDOR to operate the insurance verification system." Warren asked whether that open‑ended language could allow future additions that go beyond what the legislature intended. Mandy Rowe said the language was taken from a model law drafted by the Interstate Insurance Committee on Motor Vehicle Administration (IICMVA) and that the intent was to accommodate evolving technology, for example an account number from a license‑plate reader system. Eileen suggested the committee could work with the Department of Insurance on more specific language to limit additional items to technology‑related needs rather than broader disclosures.

Committee chair and members closed the hearing on HB 2,047 and said staff would return with additional information; no committee vote was taken at the hearing. Eileen noted that the House Committee of the Whole had passed the bill unanimously on Feb. 20.

The hearing drew additional written proponent testimony from Elizabeth Smaller (General Counsel, Kansas Association of Insurance Agents), Lieutenant Roy Wise (Kansas Highway Patrol), and Steve Carney (Kansas State Troopers Association).