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ASSEMBLY, No STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 211th LEGISLATURE PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2004 SESSION

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(1)

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

211th LEGISLATURE

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2004 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman JOHN S. WISNIEWSKI District 19 (Middlesex)

SYNOPSIS

Requires uninsured motorist coverage for intentional acts of operators of uninsured and hit and run motor vehicles.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

(2)

EXPLANATION - Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and intended to be omitted in the law.

Matter underlined thus is new matter.

AN ACT concerning uninsured motorist coverage and amending 1

P.L.1968, c.385. 2

3

BE IT ENACTED by the Senate and General Assembly of the State 4

of New Jersey: 5

6

1. Section 2 of P.L.1968, c.385 (C.17:28-1.1) is amended to read 7

as follows: 8

2. a. Except for a basic automobile insurance policy, no motor 9

vehicle liability policy or renewal of such policy of insurance, including 10

a [standard] liability policy [for an] as part of a standard automobile 11

insurance policy as defined in section 2 of P.L.1972, c.70 (C.39:6A-2), 12

insuring against loss resulting from liability imposed by law for bodily 13

injury or death, sustained by any person arising out of the ownership, 14

maintenance or use of a motor vehicle, shall be issued in this State 15

with respect to any motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in 16

this State unless it includes coverage in limits for bodily injury or death 17

as follows: 18

(1) an amount or limit of $15,000.00, exclusive of interest and 19

costs, on account of injury to, or death of, one person, in any one 20

accident, and 21

(2) an amount or limit, subject to such limit for any one person so 22

injured or killed, of $30,000.00, exclusive of interest and costs, on 23

account of injury to or death of more than one person, in any one 24

accident, under provisions approved by the Commissioner of Banking 25

and Insurance, for payment of all or part of the sums which the insured 26

or his legal representative shall be legally entitled to recover as 27

damages from the operator or owner of an uninsured motor vehicle, 28

or hit and run motor vehicle, as [defined] described in section 18 of 29

P.L.1952, c.174 (C.39:6-78), because of bodily injury, sickness or 30

disease, including death resulting therefrom, sustained by the insured, 31

caused by accident and arising out of the ownership, maintenance, 32

operation or use of such uninsured or hit and run motor vehicle 33

anywhere within the United States or Canada; except that uninsured 34

motorist coverage shall provide that in order to recover for 35

non-economic loss, as defined in section 2 of P.L.1972, c.70 36

(C.39:6A-2), for accidents to which the benefits of section 4 37

(C.39:6A-4) of that act apply, the tort option elected pursuant to 38

section 8 (C.39:6A-8) of that act shall apply to that injured person. 39

All motor vehicle liability policies, except basic automobile 40

insurance policies, shall also include coverage for the payment of all 41

or part of the sums which persons insured thereunder shall be legally 42

entitled to recover as damages from owners or operators of uninsured 43

(3)

motor vehicles, other than hit and run motor vehicles, because of 1

injury to or destruction to the personal property of such insured, with 2

a limit in the aggregate for all insureds involved in any one accident of 3

$5,000.00, and subject, for each insured, to an exclusion of the first 4

$500.00 of such damages. 5

b. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage shall be provided 6

as an option by an insurer to the named insured electing a standard 7

automobile insurance policy up to at least the following limits: 8

$250,000.00 each person and $500,000.00 each accident for bodily 9

injury; $100,000.00 each accident for property damage or $500,000.00 10

single limit, subject to an exclusion of the first $500.00 of such 11

damage to property for each accident, except that the limits for 12

uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage shall not exceed the 13

insured's motor vehicle liability policy limits for bodily injury and 14

property damage, respectively. 15

Rates for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage for the 16

same limits shall, for each filer, be uniform on a Statewide basis 17

without regard to classification or territory. 18

c. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage provided for in 19

this section shall not be increased by stacking the limits of coverage of 20

multiple motor vehicles covered under the same policy of insurance 21

nor shall these coverages be increased by stacking the limits of 22

coverage of multiple policies available to the insured. If the insured 23

had uninsured motorist coverage available under more than one policy, 24

any recovery shall not exceed the higher of the applicable limits of the 25

respective coverages and the recovery shall be prorated between the 26

applicable coverages as the limits of each coverage bear to the total of 27

the limits. 28

d. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage shall be subject 29

to the policy terms, conditions and exclusions approved by the 30

Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, including, but not limited to, 31

unauthorized settlements, nonduplication of coverage, subrogation and 32

arbitration. 33

e. For the purpose of this section, (1) "underinsured motorist 34

coverage" means insurance for damages because of bodily injury and 35

property damage resulting from an accident arising out of the 36

ownership, maintenance, operation or use of an underinsured motor 37

vehicle. Underinsured motorist coverage shall not apply to an 38

uninsured motor vehicle. A motor vehicle is underinsured when the 39

sum of the limits of liability under all bodily injury and property 40

damage liability bonds and insurance policies available to a person 41

against whom recovery is sought for bodily injury or property damage 42

is, at the time of the accident, less than the applicable limits for 43

underinsured motorist coverage afforded under the motor vehicle 44

insurance policy held by the person seeking that recovery. A motor 45

vehicle shall not be considered an underinsured motor vehicle under 46

(4)

this section unless the limits of all bodily injury liability insurance or 1

bonds applicable at the time of the accident have been exhausted by 2

payment of settlements or judgments. The limits of underinsured 3

motorist coverage available to an injured person shall be reduced by 4

the amount he has recovered under all bodily injury liability insurance 5

or bonds; 6

(2) "uninsured motor vehicle" means: 7

(a) a motor vehicle with respect to the ownership, operation, 8

maintenance, or use of which there is no bodily injury liability 9

insurance or bond applicable at the time of the accident; 10

(b) a motor vehicle with respect to the ownership, operation, 11

maintenance, or use of which there is bodily injury liability insurance 12

in existence but the liability insurer denies coverage or is unable to 13

make payment with respect to the legal liability of its insured because 14

the insurer has become insolvent or bankrupt, or the Commissioner of 15

Banking and Insurance has undertaken control of the insurer for the 16

purpose of liquidation; or 17

(c) a hit and run motor vehicle as described in section 18 of 18

P.L.1952, c.174 (C.39:6-78). 19

"Uninsured motor vehicle" shall not include an automobile covered 20

by a basic automobile insurance policy; an underinsured motor vehicle; 21

a motor vehicle owned by or furnished for the regular use of the 22

named insured or any resident of the same household; a self-insurer 23

within the meaning of any financial responsibility or similar law of the 24

state in which the motor vehicle is registered or principally garaged; 25

a motor vehicle which is owned by the United States or Canada, or a 26

state, political subdivision or agency of those governments or any of 27

the foregoing; a land motor vehicle or trailer operated on rails or 28

crawler treads; a motor vehicle used as a residence or stationary 29

structure and not as a vehicle; or equipment or vehicles designed for 30

use principally off public roads, except while actually upon public 31

roads. 32

f. Uninsured motorist coverage issued on or after the effective date 33

of P.L. , c. (now before the Legislature as this bill) shall include 34

coverage for the intentional act of the operator of an uninsured motor 35

vehicle or a hit and run motor vehicle as described in section 18 of 36

P.L.1952, c.178 (C.39:6-78). 37

(cf: P.L.1998, c.21, s.71) 38

39

2. This act shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment. 40

41 42

STATEMENT 43

44

This bill requires uninsured motorist coverage to include coverage 45

for the intentional act of the operator of an of uninsured motor vehicle 46

(5)

or a hit and run motor vehicle. In most instances, insurance excludes 1

coverage for the intentional acts of others. However, in the case of an 2

intentional act perpetrated by the operator of an uninsured motor 3

vehicle or hit and run motor vehicle, an injured party currently has no 4

recourse because the identity of the tortfeasor is unknown. This bill 5

would establish that in these certain circumstances, where the 6

wrongdoer is uninsured or unidentified, an insured would have 7

recourse under his uninsured motorist coverage. 8

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