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NEWS - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Independent Insurance Agents of New Jersey Trenton , New Jersey 08619 609-587-4333 |
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New Jersey Drivers Urged to Get Insured |
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Trenton, New Jersey – Yesterday the NJ Supreme Court unanimously upheld what has become known as “no pay, no play” regarding automobile insurance in the State. The Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the statute that prevents uninsured drivers from suing for pain and suffering. In Caviglia v. Royal Tours of America , an uninsured motorist challenged the law which would bar him from suing for pain and suffering in an automobile accident in which he was not at fault. New Jersey statute N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5 prevents three groups of people from suing for personal injuries in automobile accidents: (1) Owners of cars who are required to be insured and who are not; (2) Drivers operating a vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol; and (3) Drivers who act with intent to injure others. In upholding the constitutionality of the statute, the court wrote, “N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.5a advances a policy of cost containment by ensuring that an injured uninsured driver does not draw on the pool of accident victim insurance funds to which he did not contribute.” The court noted that a motorist does not have a fundamental right to operate an automobile without liability insurance. Furthermore, the court stated that a common thread throughout the evolution of no fault in New Jersey has been the periodic inclusion of additional conditions on the right to sue in auto accident cases, such as the case with the verbal threshold where an injured motorist must satisfy a certain threshold of injury before being able to sue for pain and suffering. “In addition to fines and license suspension for uninsured motorists, the no pay, no play statute gives the uninsured car owner a very powerful incentive to follow the insurance laws of our State”, said Scott Stanford, Chairman of The Independent Insurance Agents of New Jersey (IIANJ), “obtain automobile liability coverage or lose the right to sue for your injuries.” According to Stanford, “IIANJ applauds the Supreme Court's decision. There are an estimated 600,000 motorists without insurance. Those owners of vehicles who drive without insurance and then seek to receive payment for their claims, drive up the insurance premiums for those who obey New Jersey 's insurance laws.” The Independent Insurance Agents of New Jersey (IIANJ), formed in 1892, represents over 10,000 independent insurance agency owners and their employees located throughout the State of New Jersey. IIANJ agencies offer consumers all forms of insurance policies through multiple insurance companies and work with those consumers on a daily basis to educate them on coverage options and provide policy services.
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ALLSOPP & COMPANY |
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