The law requires the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) develop and administer a motor vehicle insurance database that shall include information provided by insurance companies. The database is to be used by the DMV to facilitate registration of motor vehicles in this state by the DMV and its agents. The database has been fully functional since July 1, 2004.

N.R.S. §60-387 requires that “an application for registration of a motor vehicle shall be accompanied by proof of financial responsibility or evidence of insurance covering the motor vehicle.” An automated insurance database assists in improving the accuracy and timeliness of motor vehicle insurance records and is the foundation upon which the on-line motor vehicle renewal registration system was built.

The statutory scheme whereby an insurance company issues a written certificate of insurance coverage to the motor vehicle owner does not lend itself to an electronic renewal process. Internet renewal processes require that access to all information necessary to complete a transaction be available in an electronic mode. A database that is available to the DMV to check for motor vehicle insurance coverage was necessary to complete an on-line registration renewal system to comply with the financial responsibility requirements of N.R.S.§60-387.

It is important to state that the motor vehicle insurance database has its limitations. Users of the database, as well as the general public, must be educated to understand that the database is just one tool that can be used to verify motor vehicle insurance coverage. The transmission of information from insurance companies to the DMV occurs on a regular cycle, but is not daily. There will be times when a vehicle owner has motor vehicle insurance coverage, but that information has not yet been transmitted to the database. It is incorrect to assume that the database replaces the need for the issuance and retention of written certificates of insurance.

The  Nebraska Insurance Reporting Guide provides the insurance companies with the necessary information to comply with Nebraska's Insurance Database Program.