FLORIDA CANNOT PROCESS ONLINE VEHICLE REGISTRATION FOR FLEETS
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is experiencing an issue with its online vehicle registration portal. This error is preventing clients with more than 10 motor vehicles registered in Florida from successfully renewing/registering them online. The reason: their system will only acknowledge up to 10 vehicles on a single insurance policy. (both personal and commercial insurance lines)
While not the biggest issue, this is an inconvenience and a potential compliance penalty should families be unable to complete the registration on time. Thankfully, the workarounds are numerous.
Who Is Impacted?
All vehicle registrants looking to renew the registration for more than 10 vehicles on a single insurance policy.
Which Insurers Are Affected?
Right now, all insurance companies approved for automobile insurance in Florida are affected as this is a Florida DMV issue.
Does This Affect My Insurance?
No, this issue is a Florida State issue and does impact your insurance, insurability, or claims.
How Will I Know If I Am Impacted?
You will either receive a notice of non-compliance for missing registration OR will not see all of your vehicles listed for registration renewal in the Florida DHSMV online portal.
How Should We Navigate This Issue?
Currently, the issue is only related to policies with more than 10 vehicles and only for online registration. So, your workarounds include-
- Process your vehicle registration via post rather than online until the issue is resolved (est. March 2020)
- Split your insurance into multiple policies with no more than 10 vehicles per policy
Note: When processing via post, the DMVHS will contact your insurer to confirm the insurance is in place. Your insurer will respond and now additional action is needed by you to assure State liability law compliance.
Who Can I Discuss This Issue With?
The best person to address this would be your insurance broker or risk management advisor who can coordinate with your insurer and confirm your compliance with Florida Law. They will also be able to assist you in navigating a workaround.
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles FAQs
- The issue only affects single insurance policies which have more than 10 registered vehicles (ie: a single policy number)
- Both commercial and personal insurances are affected
- The State of Florida anticipated a July 2019 system patch to fix the issue; the new date is March 2020
- Vehicle registrations must be renewed in Florida every 2 years so this will be disruptive to those currently in a renewal cycle
- Registration by mail is unaffected
Final Thoughts
These types of quirky issues happen often within State systems. The workarounds are fairly painless, especially if you can delegate the completion of manual (paper) enrollment. Otherwise, talk to your risk advisor about how to tackle this issue with your insurer.
Additional Reading
If you want to learn more about automobile insurance, read our complete guide to automobile risk for private families.