Opponents say the Auto Insurance Reform Act, which says it needs sponsors to help victims of accidents, will force more than a million New Jersey drivers to pay hundreds of dollars or more each year. I’m warning you.
The bill, which passed a major state Senate committee on Monday, will allow Garden State drivers to choose a personal injury insurance plan of at least $ 250,000, commonly referred to as PIP, from the current minimum charge of $ 15,000. Request.
The other prohibits drivers from using private health insurance as the primary payer of personal injury insurance in exchange for discounts on car insurance.
Sponsors of the proposed reforms, including Democratic Senator Nicholas Scutari and Republican Senator Jon Bramnick, have stated that they have been postponed for a long time and are needed for those injured in the crash. increase. But opponents say it will lead to soaring costs and less insured drivers on New Jersey roads.
“Currently, if you are enjoying that primary discount on health and have a $ 15,000 PIP and you move from a secondary $ 15,000 PIP to a primary $ 250,000 PIP, you will get an annual premium of about $ 650. We expect a hike, “a national association of mutual insurance companies told lawmakers in a hearing on Monday’s bill committee.
There are 1.27 million New Jersey drivers taking out health insurance discounts, and 46% of drivers choose personal injury insurance for less than $ 250,000, Whelan said.
Whelan estimates that drivers who currently purchase $ 15,000 in PIP and maintain auto insurance as their primary coverage are “expected to grow by as much as $ 350 a year.”
“It makes insurance even more affordable for many, many New Jersey residents,” consumer report Chuck Bell told lawmakers. “People will not be able to cope with such a surge, and as a result, more people will drive without coverage.”
He said the two bills could boost prices by as much as 90%.
“I think this is really going in the wrong direction, especially when it comes to inflation,” Bell said.
However, proponents of the bill say the current system is flawed and needs to be refurbished.
R-Union’s Branmick said:
Attorney Bramnick said he regularly saw clients seriously injured in a car accident and was shocked to be given only $ 15,000 in rights. This is even less when the deduction amount is taken into account. Covers all costs of injury.
“It always happens. How often do you see it? Always,” he said.
And while people can always sue drivers with lower personal accident insurance policies, it’s likely that they won’t go anywhere, Bramnick said. The driver probably doesn’t have enough assets.
“Most of the car policies out there are only $ 15,000,” Bramnick said.
However, the opponent does not agree.
“People who are unable to fully recover all costs from other drivers in an accident rely on uninsured and uninsured driver compensation they purchase as mandatory compensation for their own policies. It will be, “said Gary Laspisa New Jersey, Vice President of the Insurance Council.
“Auto insurance is a system designed to protect the assets of each policyholder. It is not a system of compensation for accident victims,” added Christine O’Brien, president of the New Jersey Insurance Council. ..
Another part of the package that cleared the Senate on Monday will loosen the litigation rules for victims of accidents injured by drunk drivers. In these cases, it will eliminate the verbal threshold that makes it clear which injury is the subject of the proceedings.
Opponents of the package argue that this shows that at least part of the reform intent is to benefit personal injury lawyers.
“Whether the driver was drunk or reckless, a driver in New Jersey who was seriously injured in an accident occurs directly in the event of death, dismantling, severe deformity, fracture recovery, fetal loss, or permanent injury. Beyond the law, as I quote, it is already possible to complain of pain and suffering beyond the verbal threshold, “La Spisa said. “This law really only affects soft tissues and minor injuries.”
O’Brien further states: “One group that endorsed the bill package is the plaintiff’s lawyer, the New Jersey Judiciary Association.
However, O’Brien agreed that $ 15,000 in passenger property insurance is small and that he will work with lawmakers to raise the minimum amount.
Like Bramnick, Sktari is a lawyer.
“These are common sense reforms to protect consumers from insurers,” said Scutari of D-Union. “New Jersey continues to have the lowest coverage limits in the country and hasn’t been raised for 50 years. We have been postponed for a long time due to reforms.”
Scutari did not return a message asking for comment on the backlash against the bill. However, he was asked by a reporter last Thursday about insurance packages, and especially his daily routine as a personal injury lawyer.
“My day’s work is here now,” Scutari said. “It’s a consumer protection package. The bill package tries to protect consumers from the evils of society — protecting them from insurers who don’t really have their best interests — but the government Make sure you protect people from bad decisions, because they just do what we tell them. “
He added: “New Jersey has the lowest liability insurance in the country. We are dead last. We must not die last. We are one of the wealthiest states in the union. Shouldn’t we have more than a very basic minimum coverage? What’s happening is that taxpayers are billing for this. People are catastrophically injured. Injured in an accident, the car has not been repaired and no medical costs have been paid. We all pay the price. We need to ensure that all of them are protected. “
When asked if the bill would affect his work as a lawyer, Scutari said: “I don’t think so. It affects members of society where they are involved in serious and horrifying decisions. I hope to give you. “
Bramnick recognized him as a lawyer who could benefit from having more qualifications for medical expenses if his client had an accident. But that wasn’t the reason he sponsored the bill, he said. He felt that the insurance company was overkill in reducing profits for the victims of the crash, so he put it off.
“That’s not all of me,” Bramnick said. “I will fight for the victims.”
Opponents of the bill, meanwhile, say it will overwhelmingly affect non-white drivers who are already hurt by current practices.
“Our main issue is that the discriminatory rating practices still in use by the state’s car insurance companies, which allow the use of education, profession, credit scores and even marriage history, are affecting disproportionately. It was a disproportionate impact of being, and it is still going on. It is a low-income resident and has a disproportionate impact on the color community, “said the Head of Policy and Advocacy for New Jersey Citizenship. One Maura Collinsgle said:
Another bill in the reform package will raise the minimum liability insurance for commercial vehicles to $ 1. 5 million.
The package passed the legislative committee with bipartisan support, with the exception of state senator Robert Singer, who said the commercial vehicle bill would “destroy the owners of small businesses.”
“I don’t think we care about small businesses,” said the R-Ocean singer.
The bill must pass both the Senate and Congress and be signed by Governor Phil Murphy to become a law.
NJAdvanceMedia Staff Writer Brent Johnson Contributed to this report.
Our journalism needs your support.Subscribe today NJ.com..
Matt Arco May reach marco@njadvancemedia.com.. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco..
