Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to the article “NJ car insurance rates down, still No. 2 in US” by The Associated Press found on philly.com, the state has seen a 9.6% in auto insurance premiums since 2004. This is based on information from The Star-Ledger of Newark and Record of Bergen County’s Statehouse Bureau.

Despite this drop, New Jersey auto insurance quotes continue to be second highest in the US, just behind Washington, DC. Data compiled from the National Association of Insurance Commissioner’s annual report shows the average New Jersey resident in ‘07 paid about $1100 per year, which was down about 4% from the previous year.

New Jersey continues to be one of the most expensive places to insure a car, partly because of how densely populated the area is. Auto insurance rates have dropped about 5.6% between ‘04 and ‘07 across the nation.

According to the article “New Jersey Association of REALTORS(R) Endorses High Point Auto Insurance” from news.prnewswire.com, High Point Auto Insurance announced a new partnership with NJAR(R) that will save thousands on New Jersey auto insurance quotes for members. 

NJAR(R) has endorsed High Point Auto Insurance as their official auto insurance partner so its members will have access to a discount with one of New Jersey’s most respected auto insurance companies in New Jersey.

Jim Tignanelli, the president of High Point Property and Casualty Insurance Company, says that since they are also focused only on New Jersey residents they can provide meaningful coverage and benefits that include the specific needs of New Jersey auto insurance policy holders.

A profile of High Point Insurance Company has been added to the smartautoinsurance.com auto insurance company directory.  High Point Insurance Company is a New Jersey based auto insurance company that is focused on providing high quality insurance coverage specifically to New Jersey residents.  They are the 6th largest auto insurance provider in the state.

More information abotu New Jersey auto insurance.

According to a press release on marketwatch.com from the School Teachers’ Insurance Plan of NJ, 2 graduating students from Toms River High School were awarded $1,000 scholarships as part of the New Jersey Auto Insurance program “Quotes for Cash”. 

The Toms River School District was one of the first to partner with the Teachers’ Insurance Plan of NJ for the Quotes for Cash program.  They have received teacher grants, donations and scholarships in the past few years.  The partnership between the school district and the company is strong.

The Quotes for Cash program donates money into a fund each time an employee of the school district gets auto insurance quotes through New Jersey Auto Insurance with Teachers’ Insurance Plan of NJ.  The program was created in 2007 and since then has raised over $50,000 for locals schools.  Teachers’ Auto Insurance Company of NJ offers auto insurance only to active and retired faculty and staff of NJ licensed educational facilities.

About 300,000 NJ residents who have New Jersey auto insurance coverage through Allstate will soon see their rates increase by 8.9% on average.  Allstate had requested a 15.4% average increase but only a 8.9% increase was approved by the state.  The 8.9% increase was still the highest increase approved by the state in six years.

Overall New Jersey auto insurance rates increased 3.7% across from March 2009 to April 2009.  In addition, insurance.com’s monthly RateWatch report singled out New Jersey as having a large disparity in prices between auto insurance carriers for similar coverage levels, and that shopping for auto insurance in New Jersey could be particularly profitable.

Members of a variety of associations can save on their New Jersey auto insurance premiums with a local insurer. According to a press release from High Point Auto Insurance, more than 75 groups are eligible for extra discounts, including:

• the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants
• OnStar
• the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce
• New Jersey Soccer Group
• the New Jersey Dental Association

This membership benefit can be combined with other High Point discounts, which the company claims can result in up to 50% lower auto insurance rates.

Allstate Insurance Company has filed a petition with the New Jersey Department of Insurance to increase their New Jersey auto insurance rates by 15.4% on average.

Allstate sited increased claims costs and expenses as the primary reasons that the rate increase is necessary.

If the rate change is approved by the department of insurance, it will only affect policy holders whose auto insurance policies became effective before September 2006.

New Jersey Auto insurance rates were already the 3rd highest in the country in the 4Q of 2008, behind District of Columbia, and Louisiana.

A change in state regulations may be resulting in higher auto insurance rates for people in New Jersey based on their education or occupation, states Larry Higgs of the Ashbury Park Press. Since January 1, New Jersey auto insurance companies are formally allowed to use factors other than an individual’s driving record in determining premiums.

According to a study of quotes, having a high school education as opposed to a college degree resulted in quotes up to 61% more expensive. Opponents of the new regulations contend that they will lead to an unregulated free-for-all: insurers will be able to reject individuals without explanation, and those individuals might choose to illegally drive without insurance. Larry says that some groups also consider this rule discriminatory against blue-collar workers and those with lower incomes, whom are least likely to afford higher auto insurance premiums.

Bills that would eliminate the usage of factors like a person’s job, education, and credit rating in calculating quotes for a policy have been introduced in both the state Senate and Assembly, but the former has remained stuck in committee for several years.

The cost of New Jersey auto insurance could increase sharply for some drivers, claims Rudy Larini in the Star-Ledger. A new rule that came into effect on January 1st allows auto insurance companies to deny coverage to virtually anyone they want for almost any reason (barring obvious, illegal discrimination of course). Before, the state’s “take-all-comers” rule required all insurers to cover all drivers in new Jersey, except those who either had a policy canceled for non-payment of the premium or garnered more than 7 points on their driver’s license. Now providers can take into account factors such as not having had a license for the past 5 years.

Drivers in urban areas will suffer the most impact. The “take-all-comers” rule was first enacted when they complained of not being able to find auto insurance. According to Rudy, the rule was intended to be temporary, and this is just a final step in auto insurance reforms that have been going on for several years.

Individuals probably won’t have a problem finding an insurer that will accept them, since New Jersey requires all drivers to have insurance. Unfortunately, that insurance could be far more expensive than it was previously. If someone is rejected by two or more insurers, they will automatically be directed to the state’s high-risk pool. If that pool increases to more than 10% of NJ drivers, the rule will be reinstated to prevent discriminatory auto insurance rates.

(Photo credit: Tony the Misfit under CC 2.0)

IFA Insurance Company, an auto insurer serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey residents has announced that they will next accept payment of auto insurance premiums via Paypal.  The integration of Paypal into their accepted payment methods, is a innovative convenience for policy holders I would not be surprised to see other auto insurance companies to follow suit.

More Information about Pennsylvania Auto Insurance, and New Jersey Auto Insurance.