Driving Without Insurance in Missouri

You might be thinking you are saving money by not paying your auto insurance premium, but that choice could cost you big in the long run.  Missouri has some pretty tough provisions for those caught driving without insurance who end up in an accident.  Not only are no insurance traffic tickets costly point-wise (see my previous post), there are real ramifications whether you get a no insurance ticket or not.

If you have been involved in an accident and did not have insurance, you and the other driver are required by Missouri law to file an accident report with the Missouri Department of Revenue within one year of the accident.   See Missouri Revised Statute §303.040.   

That is where the fun begins.  If you didn’t have insurance, your license will be suspended by the Department of Revenue, for up to a year.  This will happen whether or not the accident was your fault.  See §303.042, 303.044. 

If the accident was your fault, you will be suspended AND you will not be able to get your license back until you can prove you have taken care of the damages.  This simple issue could hold your license up for years.  The other driver and their insurance company have a lot of power in this situation.  You will not get your license back until you can show you have made payment arrangements with the other party that are satisfactory.  If the damage amount is large, you could be paying that party off for years. 

Not only will you have to take care of the damages, you will have to get SR-22 insurance for 3 years in order to get your driver license reinstated.  This could cost thousands of dollars.  See what I mean about the cost?  You might think you are saving on a monthly premium, but in reality you are risking your privilege to drive and potentially thousands of dollars that you will have to pay out before you can ever get your driving privilege back.

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