PHOENIX — If you don't have the minimum liability insurance on your car, the Arizona Department of Transportation can suspend your registration.
In Arizona, that minimum is $25,000 for bodily injury coverage for one person, $50,000 for all persons, and $15,000 for property damage coverage.
Dozens of drivers let me know they got those letters in error.
Some even paid an ADOT reinstatement fee they didn't owe just to get their registrations.
Greg Kulka received a letter asking him for insurance proof on both of his vehicles.
He did have the right liability coverage on both of them, but he says trying to get that proof to ADOT has been impossible.
"They told me I couldn't renew online because they were suspended," Kulka says.
"These letters being sent out are unwarranted because everything is correct," says Kristi Redding, an insurance broker with Insurance Professionals of Arizona.
She says she's been seeing a lot of owners who do have insurance getting letters asking for proof, and threatening registration suspension.
Redding says it used to be easy to provide that insurance proof, but not anymore.
"They've made some changes to their website...very hard to use," she says.
Chris let me know, "(ADOT's) website has multiple problems. And their phone service tells me to use the website."
And Bruce says, "I spent two hours trying to get thru four levels of security. Could never get it to work."
Jennifer asks, "are we going to be forced to pay fines to lift suspension on registration due to an error on their part?"
Even though Kulka had the right insurance, he says when he couldn't get ADOT to accept his proof, he paid their $50 reinstatement fee, which was $100 for both vehicles.
"I wanted to get my plates renewed so I'm just going to pay it," he says.
We took that to ADOT along with the proof Kulka showed me.
In less than a week, ADOT investigated and found Kulka was right.
"Thanks to you, obviously you got someone to really listen," he says.
ADOT says, "thanks again for bringing this to our attention. We are looking into these cases as they are reported."
"I got a call from them saying they were going to refund my $100," he says.
It's money he should never have had to spend in the first place, but ADOT stepped up here and did the right thing quickly.
I hope they continue to look into their system and why people are having a hard time showing insurance proof.
Did you pay a $50 ADOT reinstatement fee to keep your car registered? Let me know. Email: joe@abc15.com
And if you have a similar problem, ADOT says to take these steps:
"First, log into your account at AZMVDNow.gov www.azmvdnow.gov and select "Manage Insurance" under the "Other Services" menu. It is possible your insurance company has not transmitted your insurance information to MVD or there was an error preventing the transmission to update your insurance with MVD. Click "Update Insurance" to update your insurance information. You may also want to contact your insurance agency to ensure they have your information correct. If you need additional assistance contact MVD. [azdot.gov]"
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