New Jersey Raises Auto Insurance Minimums to 35/70/25, What Drivers Need to Re-Check
Effective January 1, 2026, New Jersey lifted its Standard Policy minimums above the national median. Here's what changed and how to verify your policy.
New Jersey just moved the floor. As of January 1, 2026, the minimum liability coverage on a Standard Policy climbed to 35/70/25, and if you've been riding the old minimums, your next renewal is the moment to make sure you actually got upgraded.
The numbers translate plainly: $35,000 in bodily-injury coverage per person, $70,000 per accident, and $25,000 for property damage. That's now above the national median, and it changes the math for a lot of drivers who buy the cheapest legal policy.
Why the state raised it
The old minimums were set when a serious injury claim or a totaled late-model vehicle cost far less than it does now. When the minimum coverage can't cover a routine bad accident, the gap lands on injured people, on courts, and on the uninsured-motorist coverage everyone else pays for. Raising the floor is the state's attempt to close that gap.
- 01As of January 1, 2026, New Jersey's Standard Policy minimum liability limits rose to 35/70/25.
- 02That's $35k bodily injury per person, $70k per accident, $25k property damage, above the national median.
- 03Carrying only the old minimums after renewal could leave you underinsured against the new norm.
- 04Higher minimums mean better protection but can nudge premiums up for minimum-coverage drivers.
- 05Check your declarations page, a renewal may or may not have auto-updated your limits.
What it means for your wallet
If you carry full coverage with healthy limits, this likely changes nothing, you were already above the new floor. If you buy minimum coverage to keep the premium as low as possible, expect a modest increase, because the policy is now insuring more. That's not a fee; it's more protection. The bigger risk is assuming you're covered at the new level when your declarations page still shows the old one.
Pull up your declarations page and confirm your liability limits in writing. 'I have the minimum' means something different in 2026 than it did in 2025.
| Coverage | Old | As of Jan 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury / person | $25,000 | $35,000 |
| Bodily injury / accident | $50,000 | $70,000 |
| Property damage | $25,000 | $25,000 |
The move to make this week
Find your declarations page, it's in your insurer's app or the renewal packet. Confirm the bodily-injury and property-damage limits read at least 35/70/25. If they don't, call and fix it. And while you're there, ask what it costs to go above the minimum: the jump from state-minimum to genuinely protective limits is often smaller than drivers expect, and it's the cheapest peace of mind in insurance.
Minimum coverage is a legal threshold, not a safety target. New Jersey just raised the threshold. Use the nudge to check whether you're actually protected, not just compliant.
Questions drivers actually ask
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AutoInsureWire is an independent US auto-insurance publication. We summarize and add context to news from primary sources, regulators, and industry publications.
