States/Providences Proof of Insurance Requirements

[suhawk305]

In the State of New York, a law enforcement officer could request the motor vehicle operator to produce proof of insurance ID card, along with their drivers license and vehicle registration, during a traffic stop or accident. Proof of insurance could be presented in a paper or digital form.
Questions:
1. Does your state require you to have proof of insurance?
2. If so, can the proof of insurance be presented in a digital form?

I ask this because I prefer to stop stuffing my two paper motorcycle insurance ID cards in my super thin Aerostitch Wallet. See: Aerostitch wallet
I am particularly interested in these requirements in my neighboring states, Canadian provinces, and our 2021 Rally State, Ohio.

 

[stateboy_imp]

Michigan

1. Yes
2. Yes

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[Rocky_imp]

I this province you must provide proof of insurance when you renew your licence plate sticker.
You must provide both drivers licence and proof of insurance if asked by any police officer.
I always have the proof provided by the insurance company in my car and carry the proof in a pocket-sized wallet-like small document holder when I'm riding.

 

[rickcb]

Ohio

1. Yes
2. Yes

 

[peterbaron]

Mike, in Ontario, CAN, upon request (police or ministry of transportation) you must produce your valid driver's license, proof of insurance and a vehicle registration.

Here are more details:
Proof Of Car Insurance In Ontario & New Digital Pink Slips

Section 33 of Ontario's Highway Traffic Act says all drivers have to carry a licence at all times while "in charge of a motor vehicle or street car." There's an $85 set fine

The Ontario government is looking to make it a little easier to show your auto insurance with the addition of digital cards. This means that instead of the 'Pink insurance card' that's been in rotation for years, drivers can now load a version of their insurance on their mobile

Still, you're supposed to be carrying your actual licence. ... "The ministry does not currently accept photos of licences in lieu of the actual card," Ontario's Ministry of Transportation said in an e-mail statement. "Therefore, drivers must carry a drivers licence card.

 

[Gone in 60]

Not sure what the rules are in California for digital proof, but I have a simple solution. I copied the registration and insurance cards for both bikes onto one piece of paper, and keep one folded up in a zip lock bag in the pockets of each of my riding jackets. That way, no matter what jacket I grab or which bike I get on, I've got everything. I've been asked to show my paperwork on a few occaisions, and didn't get any comments about the info being photocopied rather than original.

 

[Tev62]

I know you asked for US States, but should anyone be interested.

In Ireland your "registration plate" comes with the bike when new and stays with it for the life of the bike. It is merely an identification plate and is not something that has to be renewed or paid for ever again. When the bike is sold the state is informed of who the new owner is and that new owner gets a new registration document but the original plate stays with the bike. The plate has no value or expiry date and lasts as long as the bike lasts or until it is scrapped. Changing the bike to a new owner on sale is free of charge, the buyer and seller merely fill out the existing registration document and send it off in the post. The new owner gets a new vehicle registration document through the post. You never have to produce this document to any Policeman on the roadside to prove ownership. (some European Countries you do)

You must display a "Motor Tax Disc" which is an annual fee to use the roads. In Ireland it is fixed at €88 ($105 US). Then of course you need insurance cover, but you are not obliged to carry it as the police can scan your registration plate and a database will tell them if you have valid insurance (which is mandatory).

So, in short you must carry and display a tax disc but many policemen in Ireland let it slide as they can easily be stolen off a bike and they know this.

If you have a car you must not only carry, you must display your Motortax, Insurance and NCT (National Car Test) at all times in the windscreen and permanently. The NCT is an annual car inspection which motorcycles do not have to have in Ireland (unlike the UK)

As a Bike or Car driver you are also obliged to carry your driving license at all times.

Digital doesn't cut it for any of these requirements by the roadside.

 

[Blockhead_imp]

Pennsylvania

1. Yes
2. Yes

 

[LongRanger_imp]

Colorado:

1. Yes
2. Yes, but I just keep a paper copy with my registration.

 

[GoldOxide_imp]

Wish they could just settle on a global 2D bar code standard or sumthin' similar for all vehicles.

Most mobiles these days can capture a bar code and [securely] decode it back to the government database with an app.

 

[suhawk305]

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. Maybe I am the last one to know, but it appears that proof of insurance requirement is consistent among the states and Canadian provinces.
Tev, I would love to rent a motorcycle and tour around your country. However, my wife would not agree to that arrangement. (She has not ridden with me since the early 1980s and is convinced that all motorcycles are uncomfortable and vibrate like my CB77.) Hopefully in a year or two we plan to visit Ireland and see its beauty, as well as the areas our ancestors are from. My wife understands her family originated from County Waterford and County Mayo, my grandparents migrated from County Leitrim, Manorhamilton.

 

[Tev62]

Thanks everyone for your input and suggestions. Maybe I am the last one to know, but it appears that proof of insurance requirement is consistent among the states and Canadian provinces.
Tev, I would love to rent a motorcycle and tour around your country. However, my wife would not agree to that arrangement. (She has not ridden with me since the early 1980s and is convinced that all motorcycles are uncomfortable and vibrate like my CB77.) Hopefully in a year or two we plan to visit Ireland and see its beauty, as well as the areas our ancestors are from. My wife understands her family originated from County Waterford and County Mayo, my grandparents migrated from County Leitrim, Manorhamilton.

A good spread across Ireland then, County Mayo gets my pick out of the three, it is blessed with some of the best sections of the "Wild Atlantic Way" which is essentilly a motoring route along the whole west coast of Ireland and its rugged Atlantic coastline. The Mayo section is superb.