New Jersey car insurance at a glance
| Requirement | New Jersey rule |
|---|---|
| Minimum liability (standard policy) | $35,000/$70,000/$25,000 (35/70/25), effective January 1, 2026 |
| Fault system | No-fault with choice; $15,000 PIP on standard policies |
| Uninsured motorist | Required, matching your liability limits |
| SR-22 | Not used in New Jersey |
What New Jersey requires by law
New Jersey just finished the biggest overhaul of its insurance minimums in decades. On January 1, 2026, the standard-policy floor rose to 35/70/25: $35,000 per injured person, $70,000 per crash, $25,000 in property damage. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage must match those limits. This completes a two-step climb that started in 2023, when the old 15/30/5 minimums (among the weakest in the country) jumped to 25/50/25.
New Jersey is also a no-fault state with a choice. Standard policies carry $15,000 of personal injury protection that pays your own medical bills regardless of who caused the crash, and you pick between an unlimited right to sue and a cheaper limited right.
There is also a basic policy: $5,000 property damage, $15,000 PIP, no bodily injury liability. Our take is blunt. In the most densely populated state in the nation, a basic policy is a rounding error pretending to be insurance. And even the new 35/70/25 minimums are modest against New Jersey medical and vehicle costs. If you can afford to go higher, go higher.
Driving uninsured here brings some of the harshest penalties in the country: heavy fines, suspension, community service, and a legal bar on recovering certain damages even when the other driver caused the crash.
What drives premiums in New Jersey
- Density. New Jersey packs more people per square mile than any other state. More cars per mile means more crashes per driver, which means higher base rates everywhere from Bergen to Camden.
- PIP and the no-fault system. Mandatory medical coverage with New Jersey’s healthcare costs built in adds a layer most states do not carry.
- The 2026 minimum increase. Drivers who carried 25/50 limits got moved up automatically at renewal, with premiums to match. More than a million drivers are affected.
- Repair and legal costs. Dense-state labor rates, parts costs, and an active litigation environment all flow into claim severity.
How to pay less in New Jersey
- Shop now, specifically because of the limit change. Carriers reprice the new minimums differently, and the cheapest insurer for 25/50 was not necessarily cheapest at 35/70.
- Reconsider your PIP options. Setting your health insurance as primary for crash injuries, where eligible, can trim the PIP premium.
- Weigh the lawsuit threshold honestly. The limited right to sue saves real money. Just understand what you are giving up.
- Raise collision and comprehensive deductibles on older vehicles, or drop those coverages when the math stops working.
- Bundle and compare annually. In a high-cost state, the percentage discounts are worth more dollars.
See how to lower your premium for the full list and the cheapest coverage guide for where the floor really is.
For coverage fundamentals, start at the auto insurance hub, then put New Jersey quotes side by side. The state just raised your coverage. Make the market compete for the premium.