Help with my insurance and SR-22s
May 13, 2013 2:58 PM   Subscribe

I am having trouble getting my insurance company to issue an SR-22 to the Oregon DMV so my license isn't suspended.

OK, this is a little complicated:

Last year I moved from Oregon to Texas. I did not get a Texas license immediately because I was waiting until I had a permanent address. My family was going through some financial difficulties, and we had also canceled our car insurance.

In December, I was pulled over in Johnson City, TX for speeding. I was given a citation for lack of insurance. I paid the fines, and obtained automobile insurance from State Farm in April.

A few weeks ago, I got a letter from the Oregon DMV stating that I needed to provide proof of insurance (or "proof of future financial responsibility," in their words) by having my insurance agent file an SR-22 with the Oregon DMV. If I do not do this, my license will be suspended on May 16th.

I emailed my State Farm agent and asked if she could send an SR-22 to the Oregon DMV, and she said:
Since we've had you insured less than one month I don't see how we can assist with an Oregon issue. We have only had a Texas policy for you since April 25th. If Oregon is needing proof of coverage prior to that, I regret I cannot provide anything. Let me know if I'm missing anything? I will forward you a copy of your ID Card (proof of insurance) and you could send that to Oregon folks to see if they accept that.
I responded by explaining that I didn't need prior proof of coverage, just proof of FUTURE financial liability, and asked again if she could send an SR-22 to the Oregon DMV.

She responded by saying, "We do not provide SR-22s," and suggested that I call an different insurance company like Progressive, and buy coverage for Oregon and have them file an SR-22.

Since I am already have insurance coverage, buying more coverage just to take care of this problem seems a little ridiculous. My coverage in Texas meets all the minimum liability requirements for Oregon, and looking at the State Farm website, it looks like they do provide SR-22s. I called State Farm customer service to figure out if my insurance agent was wrong, but the customer service agent was unable to help me, saying that I would need to talk to my agent.

My agent misunderstood what I needed in the first place and seemed reluctant to help me with an Oregon issue, so I'm having doubts about what she told me. I feel like the issue is clouded because my agent is used to working in Texas and my problem is in Oregon. I am reluctant to believe that State Farm truly cannot provide an SR-22, especially since the Oregon DMV says it's fairly routine. I am tired of talking to my agent about this, but I cannot seem to get anyone else at State Farm to help me.

Is buying more insurance from another company truly my only option?
posted by mokin to Law & Government (14 answers total)
 
I'm really unclear why you're trying to renew your Oregon license when you now live in Texas. "I was waiting until I had a permanent address" - this implies that you now have one. Why not just get a Texas license?
posted by Tomorrowful at 3:03 PM on May 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Seconding Tomorrowful; why not get a Texas license and be done with Oregon's DMV? Even if you expect to move soon, changing your address with the Texas DMV will be a lot cheaper than the alternatives.
posted by jon1270 at 3:10 PM on May 13, 2013


Response by poster: I called the Oregon DMV and asked if I could get a Texas license since my Oregon license was not suspended yet. They said I could get a Texas license, but on May 16th they would notify Texas about the issues with my Oregon license, and Texas would probably suspend my license until I resolved the issues in Oregon.

So basically, I can get a Texas license, but I'll still need to get an SR-22 to the Oregon DMV nonetheless.
posted by mokin at 3:16 PM on May 13, 2013


I'd call a lawyer in Oregon who is familiar with that state's licensing laws as they pertain to driver's licenses and retain his services. Sounds like ordinary bureaucratic snafus. Perhaps the lawyer can get your insurance company to play ball.
posted by dfriedman at 3:19 PM on May 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I think your agent just doesn't want to deal with Oregon. This should not be a big deal.

Honestly, I would suggest calling one of the cheap auto insurance companies you see advertised on TV - they usually say something about getting cheap auto insurance today, or auto insurance no matter what your record, or being legal today, or something. Generally those companies are pros at sending SR-22s.

You shouldn't need a lawyer, and you're right that State Farm should do this, but they're being annoying. You can bother them more or you can get another insurance company, but this should be easy for them to provide.

Another person you can call is the Texas Department of Insurance and explain the situation to them. They can bother State Farm for you, or they can provide a list of companies that can help you with this.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 3:24 PM on May 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: To my knowledge (work in auto insurance, but not State Farm) your agent is saying State Farm doesn't do SR22s. That's a choice they make to limit their risk, like refusing to insure people who have over a certain number of accidents or violations.

What she's not saying clearly is, if you need an SR22, you need to buy a policy with an insurance compnay who does SR22s and cancel the State farm one.
posted by argylekneesocks at 3:25 PM on May 13, 2013


Important note, I am not a licensed agent. My recommendation is that you confirm this info with a licensed agent.
posted by argylekneesocks at 3:26 PM on May 13, 2013


How about simply cancelling your Oregon license while it remains in good standing, and applying for an entirely new one (rather than a reciprocated one) in Texas? Then Oregon would have nothing negative to report about you.
posted by pla at 3:47 PM on May 13, 2013


pla, that kind of tomfoolery often will not work. This will still go on record in their system, and end up following you around regardless in this age of everything being networked.

Every single person i know, or have ever had a conversation with about any sort of "oh, i'll just cancel my license/insurance/some other bureaucratically managed service to avoid this issue they were trying to nail me for and open up a different one somewhere else" type of scheme has had it bite them in the ass.

Whatever you do, don't try and do something like that. Work towards something that gets you an SR-22, not some scheme to avoid giving them one through some technicality.
posted by emptythought at 4:45 PM on May 13, 2013


pla, that kind of tomfoolery often will not work.

I apologize for responding in an AskMe, but if I've misunderstood the situation, perhaps others have as well - Because I meant no tomfoolery.

The asker has no interest in maintaining his Oregon driver's license (and in fact, can't continue to have it once he gets a new license in Texas). Texas evidently doesn't have the same requirement for this SR-22 form, or they wouldn't allow State Farm to do business in Texas and refuse to issue them.

So formally ditching the Oregon license seems like the most straightforward solution, no games or schemes or tomfoolery involved.

Perhaps I've missed the intent of the SR-22 - Does this amount to a punitive measure for getting a ticket for not having insurance, or merely a requirement for a driver's license in a state in which he no longer lives? If the latter, what obliges him to keep an Oregon license he doesn't even want?
posted by pla at 5:22 PM on May 13, 2013


IANAL, but I'd be wary of the notion that pla puts forward. Although I think pla's heart is in the right place, here's how I'd expect it to play out if you did what pla suggests:

(1) You dump your old -- technically unsuspended - OR license and get a nice new TX license
(2) TX then queries OR to get your points/driving record, etc.
(3) When they do, they pick up that the OR license had a pending suspension
(4) They suspend the TX license until the OR matter is cleared up
(5) You are now in a worse position: instead of it just taking an SR22 to make it all good on a current license, now you have to somehow clear a surrendered OR license and get OR to send that notice to TX which is likely to be a less straightforward process
posted by tyllwin at 6:18 PM on May 13, 2013


Best answer: She responded by saying, "We do not provide SR-22s,"

Your agent is either (1) being lazy or (2) smoking crack. An auto insurance agency that won't provide SR-22s? Such things exist, but not Star Farm agents. Texas uses them, so there's no possible reason she wouldn't be able to do this if she put her mind to it.

Take your business elsewhere. Doesn't even need to be a different company. Odds are excellent that the State Farm agent down the block will give you what you need.

Perhaps I've missed the intent of the SR-22

It's a standard form used to provide an extra layer of verification that a driver has insurance. Normally, you provide proof of insurance when you register your car annually, and the DMV is content to let it go at that. SR-22 filings are basically the insurance company reporting directly to the DMV about whether or not you have a policy in force. They'll update their filing immediately if your policy lapses or is canceled, so it's a way for the state to check up on particular drivers without having to do so for everyone.

My suggestion? Call an Oregon State Farm agency and see if you can get any help that way. "Look, I'm not one of your insureds, but I'm with State Farm, only in Texas. My Texas agent is being clueless about filing something an SR-22 with the Oregon DMV. Can you work with my agent to get me what I need?"
posted by valkyryn at 6:21 PM on May 13, 2013 [1 favorite]


Best answer: I would totally call a State Farm agent in Oregon to get some help, as valkryrn suggests. Pick a high rated agent from yelp or something similar. Once you have it straightened out, I'd switch agents (if not companies too).
posted by youngergirl44 at 7:20 PM on May 13, 2013


Response by poster: I called my former State Farm agent's office in Oregon and asked if they could help, and they confirmed that State Farm rarely issues SR-22s, and never for cases such as mine (driving without insurance). Basically the only time they do it is when people need an SR-22 for different reasons and they have had continuous coverage for a very long time.

Again, the advice was to get insurance at a different agency, so I think I will do that and cancel my State Farm coverage.

And for what it's worth, my Oregon agent was much more helpful and patient in explaining why they couldn't help me. If you live in Portland and need insurance, Paul Hagemann at State Farm is a great agent.

Thank you so much for all the answers, I was really at wit's' end and AskMe came through yet again.
posted by mokin at 10:13 AM on May 14, 2013


« Older My feelings were hurt. Should I say anything at...   |   Thorny, sharp-leaved plant with yellow flowers? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.