December 31, 2022
Jim Walsh/Imagn Content Services
A bill signed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy in August will increase auto insurance for drivers in the Garden State in 2023. Under the bill, anyone renewing or signing up for a new policy after Jan. 1 will pay increased rates for liability insurance. The minimum amount will increase from $15,000 to $25,000 in the new year.
The new year brings on new challenges, opportunities to reset, and start over, and for drivers in New Jersey, it will also bring on more expensive car insurance.
Drivers in the Garden State who renew or open new auto insurance policies after January will pay more in 2023 after a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy goes into effect.
According to NJ.com, drivers can expect an increase of $125 per year for car insurance. Policy holders will have to pay a minimum of $25,000 in liability insurance, up from the current $15,000, and another increase will come in 2026 when the minimum becomes $35,000.
There is also a $20,000 increase in accident coverage on insurance plans to $50,000.
The Department of Banking and Insurance estimates at least 1.1 million people have minimum coverage plans, NJ.com reports.
Murphy signed the bill in August after the state Senate voted on it with a 25-13 tally in favor of the legislation and a 44-29 vote in the General Assembly. Those in favor of the bill have argued that increasing the minimum will also increase the likelihood that accidents are fully covered, and medical expenses will not become a burden because of the low minimum.
The bill went through changes and was a compromise from the original legislation that Senate President Nick Scutari proposed, which called for drivers to have at least $250,000 in coverage.
Scutari challenged those who opposed his bill by saying, "The people of New Jersey need this Legislature to protect them from themselves because we tell them what they need to get, and that's what they get."
The argument against the increase in car insurance was that it would disproportionately affect low-income families struggling to pay for the minimum insurance.
John Harmon, president of the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, told NJBiz the bill was forcing people to make decisions that don't benefit anyone.
"This is a really, really bad bill," Assemblyman Robert Auth, R-Bergen, argued in June. "Let's give the poor, middle-class, and working-class families in New Jersey a break, for crying out loud."
Pennsylvania's auto insurance minimum for bodily injury liability coverage is $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, and $5,000 for property damage liability coverage.
