New bill signed by Gov. Murphy could drive car insurance costs up

Murphy signed the bill in response to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that prevented accident victims with limited personal injury protection from being able to get their medical expenses paid for if they were above their policy limit.

News 12 Staff

Dec 29, 2022, 11:00 AM

Updated 724 days ago

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Up to 1.2 million New Jersey drivers could start to pay more for auto insurance starting Jan. 1 due to a bill signed by Gov. Phil Murphy.  
Murphy signed the bill in response to a 2019 Supreme Court ruling that prevented accident victims with limited personal injury protection from being able to get their medical expenses paid for if they were above their policy limit.
Drivers can expect to pay more this coming year for insurance because this new law is increasing the minimum amount of liability insurance drivers need to have.
It requires the minimum amount of personal injury protection coverage to raise from its current $15,000 price tag to $25,000 per year.
Drivers currently paying the minimum amount for coverage can expect to pay between $120-$130 more per month.
Proponents of the law support the idea of injured victims getting the ability to pay their medical bills.
“I don’t think it's that unusual to ask people to pay a little extra to have some better coverage,” said Joe Gieger. “If you get into a serious accident, health care costs quite high, and I can certainly see a need to have higher coverage.”
However, many are also opposed to raising the minimum because of how expensive insurance already is in the state.