What are the minimum car insurance limits in NJ in 2026?
A New Jersey Standard Policy issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2026 must carry at least $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident in bodily injury liability, plus $25,000 in property damage liability. A policy last issued or renewed in 2023 to 2025 can still carry $25,000 and $50,000.12
The minimum that matters after a car accident is the one on the at-fault driver's policy. It depends on when that policy was issued or last renewed, not on the date of the car accident.
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Which minimum applies to my car accident date?
A car accident in 2023 to 2025 can involve a 15/30 or 25/50 policy; one in 2026 can involve 25/50 or 35/70.
| Car accident in | At-fault policy last issued or renewed | Floor per person and per accident |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 to 2025 | Before 1 January 2023, if still in force | $15,000 and $30,000 |
| 2023 to 2025 | 1 January 2023 or later | $25,000 and $50,000 |
| 2026 | In 2023 to 2025, if still in force | $25,000 and $50,000 |
| 2026 | On or after 1 January 2026 | $35,000 and $70,000 |
So if your car accident was in 2025 or early 2026, the driver who hurt you may well carry the $25,000 floor, not the new one.2
How did NJ minimum limits change from 15/30 to 35/70?
A 2022 law raised the bodily injury floor in two steps, tied to the date a policy is issued or renewed.34
See the full table
| Policy issued or renewed | Per person | Per accident |
|---|---|---|
| Before 1 January 2023 | $15,000 | $30,000 |
| 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2025 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| On or after 1 January 2026 | $35,000 | $70,000 |
Property damage liability has been $25,000 per accident since 1 January 2023.2
Why do so many sites still say 15/30 or 25/50?
Many repeat older floors: of 9 ranking New Jersey pages we checked that state a bodily injury minimum, 5 give only 15/30 or 25/50 and never mention 35/70.
We read the saved text of 67 New Jersey pages that ranked on Google in November 2026 for PIP, uninsured motorist, lawsuit, deadline and police-report questions. Two of the five outdated pages ranked first.13
On 10 November 2026 the top Google result for "basic auto insurance policy nj car accident injury", a page dated 2021, still gave $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident.14 25/50 is still right for a policy issued or renewed in 2023 to 2025; 15/30 is not the floor for any policy issued since.
What is the minimum bodily injury coverage in NJ?
$35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident, on a Standard Policy issued or renewed on or after 1 January 2026.
| Coverage | Minimum | What it pays |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $35,000 per person, $70,000 per accident | People you hurt in a car accident you cause |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 per accident | Other people's cars and property you damage |
| Personal Injury Protection (PIP) | Required; you choose the medical limit | Your own medical bills, whoever caused the crash |
| Uninsured and underinsured motorist (UM/UIM) | Required; you can buy more, up to your own liability limits | You, when the at-fault driver has no insurance or too little |
DOBI, the state insurance regulator, lists these as the 2026 Standard Policy minimums.1
What car insurance is mandatory in NJ?
Every legal New Jersey policy pays some of your own medical bills; only the Standard Policy also requires bodily injury liability and UM/UIM coverage.
| Coverage | Standard Policy | Basic Policy | SAIP |
|---|---|---|---|
| PIP medical | Yes, the limit you choose | $15,000 per person, up to $250,000 for certain serious injuries | Emergency care and first hospital stay, plus certain serious injuries, up to $250,000 |
| Bodily injury liability | $35,000 and $70,000 minimum (2026) | Not included; $10,000 per accident is optional | None |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 minimum | $5,000 | None |
| UM/UIM | Required | None | None |
| Lawsuit option | Your choice; limitation on lawsuit if you choose nothing | Limitation on lawsuit | Limitation on lawsuit |
SAIP is the Special Automobile Insurance Policy.56 What a Basic Policy or SAIP pays after a crash is compared in Basic Policy vs Standard Policy after a crash.
The lawsuit-option default and the SAIP rules come from the no-fault statutes.78 Driving with no policy at all brings its own bar on suing: see hurt driving your own uninsured car.
What does a $25,000 or $35,000 limit mean after a car accident?
It caps what the at-fault driver's insurance company pays you for losses your own coverage leaves, such as pain and suffering.
Your own PIP pays your medical bills first, unless you chose your health plan as primary; then the health plan pays first and PIP second.9 In a 2024 New Jersey appeal, Motil, the injury claim had settled for the at-fault driver's $15,000 policy limit.11
The per-accident cap can also be shared. In 2023 and 2024, 29,479 New Jersey crashes hurt or killed 2 or more people, and 71,963 people were in those crashes.12 Some were at-fault drivers and some crashes involved more than one policy, so not all of them share one limit.
If three hurt people claim against one 35/70 policy, $70,000 split evenly is about $23,333 each, below the $35,000 per-person figure. 8,449 crashes in those two years hurt or killed 3 or more people.12
Other New Jersey settlements that stopped at a policy limit are on our settlement figures from New Jersey appeals page. How PIP and the claim against the other driver fit together is on our guide to New Jersey no-fault insurance, part of our New Jersey car accident guides.
What if the other driver's limit is too low?
Your own underinsured motorist (UIM) coverage may pay the gap between your UIM limit and the other driver's liability limit.10
How that works, with DOBI's worked example, is on our uninsured and underinsured motorist claim help page. Disputes over reduced UIM limits are in our UM and UIM appeals decisions.
Questions people ask
How do I know my bodily injury limit?
Start with the date your policy was issued or last renewed: it sets the lowest limit the policy can legally carry, using the tables above. A policy can carry more than the floor, so the amount you bought is set in the policy itself.
What is the lowest car insurance in NJ?
The Basic Policy and SAIP. SAIP is only for people enrolled in federal Medicaid with hospitalization, and DOBI lists it at $360 paid up front or $365 in two installments.6
How much liability coverage do I really need?
New Jersey law sets only the floor, and your liability limits also cap the UIM you can buy. A 50/100/50 policy, for example, is above every minimum: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident and $50,000 of property damage.1
Is personal injury protection the same as bodily injury coverage?
No. PIP pays your own medical bills whoever caused the crash; bodily injury liability pays people you hurt when you are at fault. PIP limits are on our New Jersey PIP limits and medical bills page.
What is the minimum PIP limit in NJ?
$15,000 per person on the Basic Policy, which is also the lowest Standard Policy medical option. Both still pay up to $250,000 for certain serious injuries.5
Was the other driver's policy too small for what the car accident cost you? Answer a few short questions, about 30 seconds, to see if a lawyer's office may review it for free.
Start the New Jersey accident quiz
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Sources
- DOBI, New Jersey Auto Insurance Buyer's Guide 2026. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3, Justia, Wayback snapshot. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- NJ Legislature, P.L.2022, c.87. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- DOBI, Bulletin 25-06. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- DOBI, Basic Policy page. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- DOBI, Special Automobile Insurance Policy page. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3.3, Justia, Wayback snapshot. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- N.J.S.A. 39:6A-8 and 39:6A-8.1(b), Justia, Wayback snapshot. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- DOBI, Selecting Your Health Insurer for PIP Option. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- DOBI, Everything You Wanted to Know About Auto Insurance (2026). Read 10 Nov 2026.
- CourtListener, Motil v. Wausau Underwriters (App. Div. 2024); settlement from our NJ car accident appeals corpus. Read 10 Nov 2026.
- Injuries Cases Autos, our count of NJDOT crash records for 2023 and 2024. Read 11 Nov 2026.
- Injuries Cases Autos, our scan of 67 saved NJ ranking pages. Read 11 Nov 2026.
- Injuries Cases Autos, saved Google results page for "basic auto insurance policy nj car accident injury". Read 10 Nov 2026.
How we counted
- Crash numbers: our count of NJDOT crash records for the complete years 2023 and 2024. "Hurt" means injured or killed, as reported by police.
- Police counts do not show who was at fault, so the hurt totals include at-fault drivers.
- The even split is arithmetic on the policy limit, not a payout rule.
- Ranking pages: saved text of 67 NJ-focused Google results fetched 5 November 2026; a limit counts when both numbers of a pair appear together.
- General information, not legal advice; Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.