Delaware calls the insurer's filing an FR-19
The Delaware DMV's insurance pages never use the term SR-22. They ask for the Delaware Insurance Certification Form FR-19. Your insurance company or agent emails or faxes it straight to the DMV's Uninsured Motorist section.
The DMV insurance FAQ explains what the form proves. It certifies that the vehicle has been insured without a break since the verification date, and that coverage is in force today. You do not fill it out yourself.
Unpaid crash judgments trigger the statute's insurance certificate
The classic proof filing lives in Delaware Code Title 21, Chapter 29, Subchapter III. Lose a crash lawsuit, leave the judgment unpaid for 60 days, and the court can forward it. The Secretary of Transportation then suspends your license.
That suspension holds until the judgment is satisfied and you give proof of financial responsibility. Section 2948 lets an insurer licensed in Delaware file a written certificate that a liability policy is in effect. The certificate lists every covered vehicle, unless the policy is written for someone who owns no car.
Ten years after the judgment, DMV regulation 2280 opens another route. It wants an insurer letter showing 12 months of coverage on every vehicle you own, plus five violation-free years.
A surety bond or a $40,000 deposit also counts
Under the same subchapter, a surety company bond filed with the Secretary works, and it cannot be cancelled without 10 days' written notice. Another route is a $40,000 deposit of cash or approved securities with the State Treasurer.
If you have no car, the certificate can still be issued on a policy for a person who is not an owner. That is what a non-owner policy is for.
What a coverage gap costs a Delaware driver
Insurers report cancellations to the DMV, and an audit follows. Per the insurance FAQ, being uninsured costs $100 per vehicle for 1 to 30 days. After day 30 it adds $5 per vehicle per day until you surrender the tags or get insured.
Ignore the audit and the registration plus every owner's license is suspended, with a $50 reinstatement fee per registration. Turn in your plates before cancelling a policy.
Driving uninsured brings a fine of at least $1,500, or $3,000 for a repeat within 3 years, and a 6-month suspension. The registration insurance page sets the liability floor at $25,000/$50,000/$10,000. You also need PIP (personal injury protection, which pays medical bills) of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per crash.
Turned down by two insurers: the assigned-risk rule
Section 2905 in Subchapter I of Chapter 29 covers drivers no company will take. Apply in good faith to 2 insurers, and if both refuse, notify the Insurance Commissioner in writing. The Commissioner then assigns you to a company that writes this coverage in Delaware.
The assigned company can add a surcharge, larger when the certificate follows a conviction for driving while intoxicated. Those surcharges stop after 3 years.