Minimum car insurance requirements in New Jersey

If you drive in New Jersey, state law sets a floor for the coverage you have to carry, and that floor moved on January 1, 2026. Every policy issued or renewed on or after that date has to meet higher liability minimums than drivers carried for the last few years. Here is what New Jersey requires now, what the numbers actually mean, and where the exceptions hide.

New Jersey mandates three coverages on a full Standard policy: liability, no-fault medical benefits (PIP), and uninsured motorist protection. Collision and comprehensive are not required by the state. If you carry them, it is usually because a lender demands it, not because the law does.

The new liability minimums

For a Standard auto policy issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2026, New Jersey requires at least:

• $35,000 for bodily injury to one person in an accident
• $70,000 for bodily injury to everyone hurt in one accident
• $25,000 for property damage in one accident

Insurers write this as 35/70/25. The increase comes from P.L. 2022, c.87, signed in August 2022, which raised the minimums in two steps. The first step took effect January 1, 2023 and set the floor at 25/50/25. The second step, effective January 1, 2026, lifted the bodily injury figures to $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident and kept property damage at $25,000.¹ The Department of Banking and Insurance laid this out in Bulletin No. 25-06.¹

If your policy renews in 2026 with old limits that fall short, your insurer has to raise them to the new minimum and tell you it did, and it can do that without collecting a new signed coverage selection form.¹

These are minimums, not advice. A $35,000 per-person limit can be used up by one ambulance ride and a short hospital stay, which is why many New Jersey drivers carry well above the floor.

Basic vs Standard policies

New Jersey offers two very different policy types, and the 2026 increase touches only one of them.

The Standard policy is what most drivers carry. It includes the liability limits above, no-fault medical coverage, and uninsured motorist protection.

The Basic policy is a lower-cost, stripped-down option created under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3.1, and the 2026 minimum increase does not apply to it.¹ A Basic policy provides:

• $5,000 in property damage liability
• $15,000 in PIP medical benefits per person per accident, rising to $250,000 for a permanent brain or spinal cord injury, significant disfigurement, or trauma care
• No bodily injury liability at all, unless you add an optional $10,000 single limit
• No uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage²

Read that last point twice. A Basic policy tops out at $10,000 of liability protection for all injuries combined, and it leaves you exposed if an uninsured driver hits you. It is legal, but it is thin.

No-fault PIP medical coverage

New Jersey handles crash medical bills through a no-fault system. Your own personal injury protection (PIP) pays your medical expenses first, no matter who caused the crash, and PIP is mandatory on every policy.³ It does not just cover you either. PIP also pays for injured members of your household, passengers in your car, and pedestrians, all without regard to fault.³

On a Standard policy, PIP medical benefits default to $250,000 per person per accident.³ You can choose a lower limit in writing, stepping down to $150,000, $75,000, $50,000, or $15,000. Even at a lower option, a $250,000 benefit still applies for catastrophic injuries: permanent brain injury, spinal cord injury, significant disfigurement, and trauma stabilization at a hospital.³ A Basic policy carries $15,000 in PIP, with that same $250,000 catastrophic carve-out.²

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage

If the driver who hits you has no insurance, or too little, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UM/UIM) covers the shortfall. On a Standard policy it is required.⁴

Under N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1, your UM/UIM limits follow your liability limits and cannot exceed them.⁵ A driver sitting at the 2026 minimum carries $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident in UM/UIM for bodily injury too. Insurers have to offer higher limits, up to $250,000 per person and $500,000 per accident, but your UM/UIM can never be written above the liability coverage you picked.⁵ Basic policies include no UM/UIM.²

The lawsuit option you have to choose

Buying a Standard policy in New Jersey means picking a tort option, and it shapes your right to sue for pain and suffering after a crash. The choice lives on your coverage selection form under N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8.⁶

The limitation on lawsuit option, often called the verbal threshold, costs less. In return, you can sue an at-fault driver for pain and suffering only if your injury fits one of six categories in the statute: death, dismemberment, significant disfigurement or scarring, a displaced fracture, loss of a fetus, or a permanent injury.⁶ The unlimited right to sue option costs more and keeps your ability to sue for any injury. Plenty of drivers pick the cheaper option without reading it and learn what it means only after they are hurt.

Driving without insurance

New Jersey treats uninsured driving as a serious offense. Under N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2, a first conviction brings a fine of $300 to $1,000, a one-year license suspension, and community service set by the court.⁷ A second or later conviction can mean up to $5,000 in fines, 14 days in jail, 30 days of community service, and a two-year suspension.⁷

Why these numbers matter after a crash

Coverage limits, both yours and the other driver's, set the ceiling on what any claim can pay. If the person who hit you carried only the state minimum and your injuries cost more, your own UM/UIM and PIP coverage become the difference between a full recovery and a bill you eat.

New Jersey gives you two years from the date of a crash to file a personal injury lawsuit under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2.⁸ A claim for damage to your vehicle, including diminished value, runs on a longer six-year clock under N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1.⁹

If you need the official record of your wreck, New Jersey sells crash reports through the State Police. And when a minimum-limits policy will not cover what you lost, a lawyer who handles New Jersey car accident claims can sort out which coverages actually apply; you can find one here.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

1. NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, Bulletin No. 25-06 (auto insurance coverage limits pursuant to P.L. 2022, c.87). https://www.nj.gov/dobi/bulletins/blt25_06.pdf

2. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3.1 (election of basic automobile insurance policy; coverage provided). https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-39/section-39-6a-3-1/

3. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4 (personal injury protection coverage). https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-39/section-39-6a-4/

4. NJ Department of Banking and Insurance, Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage. https://www.nj.gov/dobi/autoplanner/frmuninsandundinschoice.htm

5. N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1 (required uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage). https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-17/section-17-28-1-1/

6. NJ Courts, Model Civil Jury Charge 5.33, Limitation on Lawsuit Option (N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8). https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/charges/5.33.pdf

7. N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 (penalties for operating an uninsured motor vehicle). https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-39/section-39-6b-2/

8. NJ Courts, Statute of Limitations FAQ (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2). https://www.njcourts.gov/faq/what-statute-of-limitations-claim-my-case

9. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1 (six-year limitation for property damage). https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-2a/section-2a-14-1/