Insurance Paper
 

I was having a discussion with my friend about insurance papers. I always thought you needed to keep them inside your car, but he said thats no the case and that if a cop were to pull you over, he can just run the VIN to get all your information.
So my question is, do you need to keep the insurance papers in your car at all times?

Has your buddy been caught without insurance papers before? It says on your insurance papers that it must be carried in the vehicle as proof of insurance.

Anyways, I don't see why you'd make the situation worse for yourself by leaving them at home or wherever you put it, and having the cops become suspicious of you.

It's $100 fine if you don't have it. I couldn't find my papers once and the officer gave me a ticket for that and a warning for speeding. It was very nice of him to do that for me. Ultimately, I found the insurance papers right before he was gonna hand the tickets to me. He then took my papers, reviewed them and came back with just the warning for speeding and he said he ripped up the other ticket. So, from first hand experience, yes, you do need your insurance papers with you when you're driving.

Motor Vehicle Act Section 33(1):

Every person, except

(a) a person driving or operating a motor vehicle exempted under section 2 (5) or section 8 or 10, or
(b) a person driving or operating a motor vehicle of a fire department of a municipality,

must have his or her driver's licence and driver's certificate and a motor vehicle liability insurance card or financial responsibility card, issued for the motor vehicle he or she is driving or operating, in his or her possession at all times while driving or operating that motor vehicle on a highway, and must produce the licence, certificate and card for inspection on demand of a peace officer.

You can produce a photocopy of the original, but you do have to produce one or the other on demand. (and before someone asks, this only applies to insurance documents, not a driver's license)

Out of curiosity, if the car is being stored, is it okay to keep the papers in the house instead? I've kept the papers for my rx7 inside for the last couple months, except when it was being driven. But my brother's rx7 is about to go into winter storage at our mom's place and I'm just wondering if it would be wise (and legal) to keep the papers here instead of in the car where they can be stolen.

That's fine. You simply cannot operate the vehicle without having them in your possession.

Ah okay, sweet :) thanks for the info.

it's a pain, but it's a good idea to bring your insurance papers in with you every night when you park your vehicle. That way, if your car gets broken into, the thieves have no access to your personal information, and makes it harder for them to attempt identity theft.

One thing I know some people do is to keep the insurance papers in their wallet. It can get a little thick, but at least it'll constantly be on you and you don't have to worry about having to get it out of your glove box every time you step out.

are we able to "blackout" the address? would then the document still be valid?

no, you are not allowed to black out the address on your insurance papers.

lol, i don't even keep my insurance papers in the glove compartment since thieves always look there if they ever break in your car..

Funny you say that... my insurance broker always makes me a copy of the papers with the address blanked out, so I can keep the copy safely in my car and the originals at home.

I've never had a problem.. 10 years going now. And I was pulled over many years ago, officer didn't have an issue with it.