Coalition Circulates Petition Urging N.J. Auto insurance Reform

The Coalition For Auto Insurance Competition, an alliance of insurance and other business associations, announced plans to circulate a petition among New Jersey residents urging the state legislature to pass the The New Jersey Automobile Insurance Competition and Choice Act.

More than 90,000 petitions have been mailed. The Coalition points to what it considers New Jersey’s excessive regulation of auto insurance as the culprit behind the lack of sufficient auto insurance choice and competition.

The latest figures show New Jersey has 47 percent fewer companies selling auto insurance than Illinois and more than a third fewer than neighboring New York and Pennsylvania. More than 20 auto insurance companies have left New Jersey in the past ten years.

The New Jersey Auto Insurance Competition and Choice Act outlines reforms to attract more auto insurers to New Jersey by permitting companies to use industry-accepted standard underwriting methods already used in nearly every state.

Members of the coalition include the National Association of Independent Insurers, Insurance Council of New Jersey, American Insurance Association, New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, Independent Insurance Agents of New Jersey, Citizens for a Sound Economy, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, New Jersey Association of REALTORS, Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey, New Jersey Food Council, New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, NJ SEED (Society for Environmental, Economic Development), Somerset County Chamber of Commerce and the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey.