Kokua Line: Aren't electronic insurance cards allowed? [The Honolulu Star-Advertiser]

Apr. 12—Question : A friend of mine was recently stopped for a speeding ticket. When asked by HPD for proof of insurance, they presented an electronic card on their phone. However, the officer said it wasn't a valid form of insurance. Wasn't a law passed by the Legislature allowing the use of electronic insurance cards ?

Question : A friend of mine was recently stopped for a speeding ticket. When asked by HPD for proof of insurance, they presented an electronic card on their phone. However, the officer said it wasn't a valid form of insurance. Wasn't a law passed by the Legislature allowing the use of electronic insurance cards ?

Answer : Yes, it took effect in 2016. House Bill 1705 was approved by the state Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. David Ige as Act 82, allowing electronic insurance cards to be used as proof of insurance for motor vehicles, motorcycles and motor scooters, including during traffic stops. Paper insurance cards also are allowed, as usual.

State law says that "the electronic proof of insurance card may be accessed directly through the licensed insurer's website, application, or database." The card shown on a mobile electronic device must include the name, make, year and factory or serial number of the vehicle ; the insurance policy number ; the names of the insured and the insurer ; and the effective dates of coverage, including the expiration date.

Q : We got free credit reports during the pandemic. When does that end ? We have jobs again after a long layoff but want to keep track of our credit report because we found mistakes on it when we checked in 2022.

A : "The three national credit reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—have extended until Dec. 31, 2023, a program that lets you check your credit report at each of the agencies once a week for free, " according to the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S. government agency.

Go to AnnualCreditReport. com to request the free copies. "Other sites may charge you or be fraudulent sites set up to steal your personal information, " the FTC says.

Federal law entitles everyone to one free credit report every 12 months from each of the three agencies. However, in 2020, early in the pandemic, the three agencies said they would temporarily make free reports available every week, encouraging people to get a handle on their finances in uncertain times. The weekly offer was subsequently extended, and now lasts through the end of this year.

On a related note, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion announced Tuesday that "medical collection debt with an initial reported balance of under $500 has been removed from U.S. consumer credit reports." With this change, now nearly 70 % of the total medical collection debt trade lines reported to the nationwide credit reporting agencies "are removed from consumer credit files, " they said. Unpaid medical collection debt large enough to be reported appears on a person's credit report after one year.

The three companies had previously announced that as of July 1, 2022, medical collection debt that has been paid off is no longer included on the person's credit report.

Auwe I am tired of seeing drivers cross the solid line on Lunalilo Street. These are drivers who come up Piikoi Street, get into the extreme left lane and cross the solid line to the right lane in the move to get into the lane that goes onto the freeway. It's bad enough to see drivers in the extreme right lane on Lunalilo Street get in the freeway lane by squeezing drivers in the correct lane. The drivers who get into the correct lane on Piikoi Street from way down near King Street are to be commended for being patient !—Linda Mahalo Many thanks to the unknown motorist who responded to my beeping horn when I got lost in Waipahu without my cellphone. I was stuck in the middle lane heading straight for the wrong freeway with no way to pull over. She had her window down, turned when I honked and yelled the directions to me out the window. Much appreciated ! I made it home safely.—Lost resident------Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813 ; call 808-529-4773 ; or email kokualine @staradvertiser.com.------

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