Under New Jersey law all vehicles registered in the state must have some form of auto insurance. New Jersey drivers can choose between a basic policy, which offers minimum coverage, and a standard policy, which allows individuals to select from different coverage options and the opportunity to buy additional protection. Once you know what type of insurance policy is best suited to your needs, you can compare New Jersey car insurance rates from a variety of insurance carriers that offer similar policies.
Instructions
1. Assess which policy coverage is right for you. If you own a home, can claim dependents in your household and have significant personal assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds and other investments, consider a standard policy coverage. If you do not have any dependents and few assets you might want to consider a basic policy.
2. Prepare a preliminary coverage report best suited to your policy. You will need to provide the make, model, year, average annual miles, principal owner of vehicle to be insured, all other drivers covered under the policy and any accidents or moving violations you've had for the prior three years.
If you are seeking rate comparisons for a basic policy, decide how much coverage you want in the areas of property damage liability, bodily injury liability, personal injury protection (PIP), comprehensive collision and the type of lawsuit coverage. If you are seeking rate comparisons for a standard policy, decide how much coverage you want in the areas of bodily injury and property damage, health care primary option for PIP, PIP medical expense limit, PIP deductible amount, uninsured and under insured motorist coverage, comprehensive collision and lawsuit liability option.
3. Contact at least four or more insurance providers authorized to do business in New Jersey to request a quote for an insurance policy based on your preliminary coverage report. Start your search for insurance providers by visiting the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance website to review their online directory of authorized auto insurance providers (see Resources).
4. Prepare a list ranking the insurance policy quotes you received. Rank the insurance quotes from highest to lowest or from lowest to highest.
5. Compare the insurance quotes on your list. For instance, if you are seeking a basic policy and you received a high quote of $1,100 and a low quote of $900 you might want to consider purchasing the $900 policy. Include in your comparison the insurance provider's most recent complaint ratio. Ratios below one are perceived as better, whereas ratios above one are considered unfavorable. The ratio measures the insurance provider's responsiveness and handling of customer-related complaints in violation of state law. View a copy of this report online at the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance website.
Tags: basic policy, insurance policy, insurance providers, standard policy, auto insurance
