New Jersey auto insurance rates may be high, but the law does not leave much room for discussion. By law, you must have auto insurance if you are driving. If you do not you may be fined, have your license suspended, have your registration suspended or be jailed. If you get into an accident and do not have auto insurance, you cannot sue. So, without a shadow of a doubt, if you are driving in New Jersey, you need auto insurance.
Now that you know you need auto insurance, the next question is what kind of auto insurance do you want? It is a question that is definitely worth some consideration. If you simply decide that you want the bare minimum insurance to save a couple of dollars, you could run into some problems down the road. Basic insurance plans in New Jersey do not include comprehensive or collision. This means that if your car is damaged in an accident, vandalized or if a tree falls on it, it may not be covered by your insurance carrier. This may not be a very big deal if you are driving around an old heap of junk on wheels but if you love your car more than life itself, you should strongly consider insurance for comprehensive damage and collision.
If the love of your car is not enough to make you look into more extensive insurance coverage, perhaps other considerations will. In the event that you cause an accident, you may be sued. Depending on the accident many of your assets may be at risk. Autoinsurancelaw.com says it this way: “If you do not have any liability coverage, under New Jersey auto insurance law, you are responsible for paying for the pain, suffering and other personal hardships and some economic damages, such as lost wages, that you cause.” (Available at: www.autoinsurancelaw.com)
Unfortunately, auto insurance is not cheap. Of course it would be nice to be completely covered but for some people it is simply too expensive. What you can do, is compare insurance plans and try to find auto insurance rates that are most affordable for you.
The Department of Banking and Insurance has helped make your search a little easier. They published their findings online at www.state.nj.us/dobi/filings.htm to help New Jersey drivers get the best auto insurance rates that they can. In the process, they examined all of the private auto insurance carriers in New Jersey and compared them. They even helped make the comparisons easier through example drivers that may be similar to you. The website walks you through step-by-step to help you find the most affordable auto insurance rates that fulfill your criteria. Once you have worked your way through their steps, they have the telephone numbers of the insurance carriers available and suggest you give a couple of your top results a call to compare actual quotes.
Regardless of what insurance carrier you are considering a good driving record and higher deductible can both help save some money. Finding the auto insurance that is a best fit for you may take a little research but a good choice pays off. Good luck finding an insurance carrier that works for you, and may you never need it.
By David Wade