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New Jersey auto insurance
New Jersey auto insurance is fairly complicated, and
therefore is generally more expensive than states with simpler state law
governing the insurance. In a bid to simplify the situation, there are
two main types of policy on offer for New Jersey residents – these
being basic and standard policies.
A basic policy is designed for those people with few or no assets, providing
only the minimum of coverage to the insured party. The policy will provide
you with $5,000 of coverage for damage to another person’s property
if the accident is your fault, along with $15,000 of medical coverage
for yourself. You should be aware that this type of basic policy does
not provide any personal injury policy, so if you injure a third party
as a result of an accident, you will be wholly liable for any claims made.
It is for this reason that the basic policy is only recommended for those
people without assets that they could stand to loose in such an event.
The basic policy does give you the option of adding cover for bodily injury
at extra cost, the amounts will be arranged with your chosen insurer.
The standard policy is more comprehensive in its coverage, the amounts
of liability coverage can be set to levels that are appropriate for the
particular customer. If you own your own home, or have other large assets
to protect, then the standard policy is your best option, as it can protect
these assets if a claim is brought about against you. The liability coverage
provided by the policy comes in two forms – bodily injury and property
damage liability, the minimum coverage values for these are $15,000 and
$5,000 respectively.
When setting the liability coverage for your policy, you need to consider
the value of the assets that you need to protect – if your house
is worth $200,000 then you should aim to have your auto insurance liability
cover this amount, otherwise you could be at risk of losing your house
if you were to be sued as a result of an accident.
Another aspect of the standard insurance policy is the person injury protection
(PIP) offered. This covers you for bodily injury resulting from an accident
no matter who was at fault, it should provide not only for medical expenses,
but also other expenses such as loss of earnings. You can again decide
the amount of coverage, which must fall within the minimum of $15,000
and the maximum of $250,000. If you already have medical cover you may
be able to nominate this as your PIP coverage for your policy, and you
may be able to obtain a coverage amount in excess of the $250,000 limit
of cover of the auto insurance included personal injury protection.
The deductible on the standard auto insurance policy is another area that
you are able to customize to your needs, setting a higher amount means
that you will pay more out of each claim, but it will give you lower premium
costs. The deductible for the personal insurance protection can be set
to an amount you decide (a minimum of $250 and maximum of $2,500 applies),
however, on expenses under $5,000 you will have to pay 20% of the costs.
Above this first $5,000 the insurer will pay the full amount.
Further options on the standard policy allow you to choose collision or
comprehensive cover, collision will pay for damages to you can in the
event of a automotive accident, whilst comprehensive will cover collision
and other damages to your car, such as that caused by theft, or incidents
such as a tree limb falling onto it.
The options for New Jersey auto insurance are complicated, and a number
of important decisions need to be taken in order for you to get the level
of cover you require, our insurers will be able to guide you through every
step of the process.
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