Garden State Bill Would Ease Agents’ Paperwork

New Jersey auto insurance agents would no longer need to offer clients quotes from each company they represent under a bill awaiting signature of Gov. Jon S. Corzine.

The bill, backed by both the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of N.J. and the Professional Insurance Agents of N.J., would also end the “three scenario” statute, which requires agents to give clients at least three different coverage scenarios.

“We’re a totally different marketplace than when those provisions went into place” said Jeanne Heisler, an agent with the Ronan Agency in Brick, who also handles government affairs for IIABNJ. “Agents don’t want to keep prospects on the phone for two hours giving quotes that don’t work best for the clients.”

Both laws were designed to prevent agents from steering away bad risks from certain companies. Complying with the law was less of a problem when relatively few carriers wrote business in N.J., but since the opening up of the auto insurance market in 2004, more carriers have entered the state – creating major hassles for some agents.

“Over the last couple of years, it became almost impossible to comply with the law,” Heisler said. “Agents would enter all that information into different Web sites over and over again. But agents can tell which company will work best for their clients and it’s more practical and better for the consumers when they do.”

The bill, A-3863, was passed by the General Assembly earlier this year and the state Senate in mid- December.

It heads now to Gov. Jon Corzine’s desk for his signature. If he declines to sign it before the end of the session, the bill would expire and have to make its way again through the legislature.

“This just created a lot of paperwork,” said Jill Muratori, government affairs counsel for PIANJ. “This bill would create a little less paperwork and will be better for agents, since it lets them focus on what they do best.”

As of Dec. 18, when Insurance Journal went to press, Corzine had yet to sign it.

But both Heisler and Muratori said they were confident that Corzine would sign the bill, given it has gone through the legislative process with barely any opposition. Although several agents spoke in favor of the bill at two hearings in the last eight months, no one gave testimony against it. It passed the General Assembly by a unanimous vote and the state senate by a 30-to-three margin.

Topics Agencies