New Jersey law requires all drivers to have insurance on their motor vehicles. At minimum, a driver must have the following insurance coverage:
The penalties for driving without insurance in NJ are severe. For a first-time violation of N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 (driving without liability insurance), one can be fined between $300 and $1,000, as well as community service, and a mandatory license suspension, among others. Those who have been accused of driving without auto insurance in New Jersey should hire an attorney to fight the charge and avoid the worst possible consequences.
Proving that a person’s auto insurance coverage has not lapsed seems like it should be easy enough to do without the help of an attorney, but this is not always the case. Many drivers are charged with driving without auto insurance because they are unaware that the policy lapsed, and proving that one had no way of knowing this is far from simple.
There are several ways to defend oneself against a charge of driving without insurance in NJ. Which defense will work depends on the facts of the case. It is always best to consult with an attorney, who will have the skills and ability to assess the situation to determine the defense that is most likely to succeed based on the facts.
The judge in State v. Hochman, 188 N.J. Super. 382 reversed a conviction for driving without insurance after the prosecution failed to prove that the driver was adequately informed that insurance was lawfully canceled. In this case, the insurance company had mailed the cancellation notice to an incorrect address of (313 Park Street rather than 314 Park Street). Therefore, the judge ruled that proof of mailing the notice was not conclusive.
In an earlier case, Matland v. United Services Automobile Association, 174 N.J. Super. 499, the defendant’s husband had canceled the policy without telling his wife, the defendant. The court held that the cancellation was void as the notice had been sent to the husband but not the wife, who had left the marital home and was the registered owner of the vehicle she was operating. The husband failed to inform the insurance company that the defendant no longer resided in the home, so notice of cancellation was not sent to her new address.
New Jersey police can potentially tell if a driver from out of state is not properly insured. There are several ways an officer can determine this. One is if the driver’s home state allows law enforcement to access a database of uninsured vehicles (not all states provide this access). The only other way is for the officer to call a 1-800 number on the driver’s insurance card to determine if the policy is current. This is time-consuming so the officer will rarely do this unless he/she has a good reason to suspect that the driver is uninsured.
Yes, police run license plate numbers during a traffic stop to determine if a vehicle is properly insured. In fact, officers can sometimes scan vehicles without stopping them using automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) cameras.
A first offense of driving without insurance in NJ does not carry points, but a second offense can result in 9 insurance points.
Driving without insurance in NJ is considered a traffic violation in New Jersey, but that does not mean the penalties are light.
A parent is only required to add a child to the family insurance policy if he/she plans to allow the child to use one of the insured vehicles.
This will depend on one’s auto insurance policy. It is best to contact one’s insurance provider to determine if the regular policy extends to rentals. If so, then it is not necessary to purchase additional insurance. New Jersey does not require those renting a car to buy new insurance just for the rental.