re: Anyone receive a notice from La Dept of Public Safety about their car insurance?

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How is charging a fee for lapse in coverage when there is no lapse in coverage a "clear violation"? Because you don't turn in your plate? IF you can prove there wasn't a lapse they shouldn't say oh okay but you still owe us 125.

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I edited my post. I hadn't read the entire thread.

Look, if you didn't have a lapse and there was just an error between your insurance and the state, then you shouldn't owe any money.

However, as posted earlier in the thread:

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As long as your vehicle is registered in the State of Louisiana you are required to maintain liability insurance on your vehicle with an insurance company licensed to do business in Louisiana. If you have not already done so, you must register your vehicle in the state you are now residing.

You must submit a copy of the registration indicating that your vehicle is currently registered in that state. If the vehicle was not registered in the state you are residing prior to the insurance cancellation date on the notice, you must also submit proof that liability insurance was in effect as of the insurance cancellation date.

If the above is not submitted within 10 days of the Official Notice of Cancellation you will be considered non-compliant and will owe a fee based on the schedule below:

UP to 30 days uninsured $125.00
31 - 90 days uninsured $275.00
91 days or more uninsured $525.00

If compliance is not received within 10 days of the Official Notice of Cancellation, a Notice of Delinquent Debt will be mailed out giving you 60 days to comply before your delinquent debt is transferred to the Office of Debt Recovery for collections. After 60 days the debt will be deemed final delinquent debt and the debt amount will increase to $525 plus a collection fee of 25% increasing the total debt to $656.25 per cancellation and the fee cap of $850.00 will no longer apply as provided for in LA R.S. 47:1676 (E).

If clearing all cancellations on the same day, there is a reinstatement cap of $850.00 in addition to a $25.00 administrative fee for each cancellation record. However, if your debt is transferred to the Office of Debt Recovery the fee cap of $850.00 will no longer apply.
If you are 65 years old or older, the cap is $250.00.

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Got one today for my Dad having a lapse in June...which is strange considering he died in January.

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Got one today for my Dad having a lapse in June...which is strange considering he died in January.

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Well, did he have insurance in June or not? Case closed. Pay up!

This was on KNOE-TV Monroe news last night. Over 1.2 million of these went out. It is not a scam...well not an internet scam. I got one of these letters yesterday for my daughter that moved to Tupelo, MS 8 years ago. The letter is authentic and should not be taken lightly. They have over a million guilty until proven innocent people. If you don't prove your innocence, they WILL get this money from you one way or another, even if it means garnishing your wages. I agree it's wrong. but I've dealt with the state on a closed business they kept trying to tax. It took some legwork and patience. but I did get it resolved. Good Luck.

So this is to help pay for the 20% across the board pay raises that were given to state police?

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If you're able to prove you didn't violate the law, then you shouldn't owe any money. However, I doubt that is the case in many of these situations.

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But how long are you supposed to keep this proof? 10 years? 15 years? 20 years?

How long does state have to keep hard copies (not just what was keyed into system or document) of receiving records for plates, documents received about vehicle registrations, title requests from dealers or owners particularly out of state with their own retention schedules, attached memos where employees may have written they approved or cleared something in case never keyed into system, copies of letters sent out, postage payments, phone records, and so on?

I don't know state's document retention policies, but I would like to know if they are holding public to higher standard than themselves.


I was in process of changing over to another state and still had Louisiana DL for awhile longer and maybe even another car registered in Louisiana. I never had issues brought up when transferring these items many months after date in letter, so why did state not doing anything when I would have been past response time in alleged original letter? Could it be that back then it was considered closed?

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having a lapse in June...which is strange considering he died in January.

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So you admit that he let his insurance lapse. What a TPOS, I hope they suspend your license if you were the executor of the estate. They need that $500.

The insurance industry was blindsided by this money grab too, and they're pushing back against the head of the OMV. This creates a bunch of busy work for agents, who aren't part of the state reporting process.

FYI, the only thing reported by insurers to the OMV is when an auto policy cancels or nonrenews. If you switch from Insurer ABC to Insurer XYZ for any customary reason, the only thing that gets reported is Insurer ABC cancelled or didn't renew your policy. The OMV has omitted the matching requirement in their system to match that data point with the other side of the transaction, i.e. new proof of insurance or plates cancelled in their own system (which can be done online very easily).

Usually, this gets resolved pretty efficiently, but the OMV has decided to run a database query on one side of the data only (lapse information) without matching it up, as they've done in the past.

Now that the independent agents trade association is involved, the time frame will get extended I imagine pretty immediately.

Just to be safe, I would adjust your withholding so you don't get a tax refund going forward though, because that will be how they will grab your money.

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October 21, 2015

To:    IIABL Members & Associate Members

Fm:   Jeff Albright, Chief Executive Officer

Re:   Louisiana OMV Collection Letters

Click here for the article from the Baton Rouge Advocate newspaper describing the process which the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (LOMV) has initiated to collect fines for lapsed mandatory automobile insurance.  LOMV has apparently sent out 1.2 million collection letters.

IIABL has received numerous phone calls and emails from agents who have had policyholders contact them about these collection letters.  In many cases the collection letters are incorrect.  In some cases the letters are for vehicles which were sold and no longer owned by the person receiving the letter.  In other cases, coverage has lapsed and been reinstated, or moved from one insurer to another insurer, the LOMV computer system has not properly matched the renewal coverage, and therefore LOMV incorrectly shows a lapse in coverage.

Some policyholders and agents who have tried to contact LOMV have been frustrated with phone, computer, and LOMV staff response systems which are overwhelmed with inquiries and are unable to respond in a timely or appropriate manner.

IIABL has requested a meeting with Stephen Campbell, Commissioner of LOMV, to discuss the problems associated with this collection process and to seek appropriate solutions for insurance agents and their policyholders.

IIABL will provide additional information as it becomes available.

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You're out of you're element slackster.

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submitted within 10 days of the Official Notice of Cancellation you will be considered non-compliant and will owe a fee based on the schedule below:

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this is what is getting many people. A first letter was not sent but they claim it was so even if I prove no lapse in coverage I still owe $128 because I didn't respond to a phantom letter. That is what makes it a bullshite money grab vs an honest attempt to collect on outstanding debt. They want a minimum of $128 for every letter sent and will garnish your federal refund to do it.

But don't let me stop you from sticking up for the state when you barely have half the facts.

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So this is to help pay for the 20% across the board pay raises that were given to state police?

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30%