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What is a Basic auto policy in NJ?

By Sandra H. Brown, Injuries Cases Autos research. Updated

The Basic Policy is New Jersey's low-cost auto policy that meets the legal minimum: $15,000 of PIP, $5,000 of property damage liability, and no bodily injury coverage unless you add a $10,000 option. That $10,000 is one amount for everyone the driver hurts.

Hurt in a New Jersey crash and only carrying a Basic Policy? A short questionnaire checks whether a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.

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What does a Basic Policy include?

Six fixed features, as DOBI describes them.1

The New Jersey Basic Policy at a glance2
FeatureBasic Policy
PIP (your own medical bills)$15,000 per person per accident; up to $250,000 for certain serious injuries
Property damage liability$5,000
Bodily injury liabilityNot included; $10,000 for all persons per accident as an option
Uninsured and underinsured motoristNone
Collision and comprehensiveOptional, from some insurers
Lawsuit optionLimitation on lawsuit, always

DOBI adds one warning in plain words: without liability coverage, your insurer will not defend you if you are sued.

Can you sue for pain and suffering on a Basic Policy?

Yes, but only for an injury that passes the lawsuit threshold. Several top-ranking pages say Basic holders have no right to sue at all, and that is wrong.3

The Basic Policy carries the limitation on lawsuit option, the same one many Standard Policy drivers have. A permanent injury or a displaced fracture still opens the claim; what the verbal threshold means lists all six categories.

Medical bills above the $15,000 cap are a separate claim against the driver at fault, because the threshold limits only pain and suffering.4

What does the $10,000 bodily injury option mean when several people are hurt?

Everyone the Basic driver hurts in one crash draws from the same $10,000, not $10,000 each.2

Crashes with several people hurt are common. Our NJDOT count found 27,987 injury crashes with two or more people hurt in 2023 and 2024, and 7,872 with three or more. Preliminary 2025 shows 4,081 with three or more.5

Three people with $8,000 of claims each would be $24,000 against one $10,000 limit. If the Basic driver hit you, a Standard Policy with UIM may fill part of the gap; see our uninsured and underinsured motorist claim help.

What changes for you after a crash on a Basic Policy?

Three situations play out differently than on a Standard Policy, and each one has a number attached.1

  • Your bills pass $15,000. PIP stops for an ordinary injury, and the rest is a claim against the driver at fault.
  • The driver who hit you is uninsured. You have no UM coverage to turn to. On a Standard Policy, $300,000 is the most common UM choice in DOBI's chart.
  • You cause the crash. Without the $10,000 option there is no bodily injury coverage and no defense.

How does the Basic Policy connect to other NJ terms?

Four other definitions change meaning when the driver involved carries Basic.

  • SR-1 and the $500 line. Damage over $500 to one person's property means a police call, while a Basic driver's property damage liability stops at $5,000. See what the SR-1 form is.
  • PIP. The $15,000 is still no-fault coverage, paid whoever caused the crash; see what PIP is in New Jersey.
  • The 51 percent rule. A Basic holder's claim against the other driver is cut by their own fault share, like anyone's; see the NJ 51 percent rule.
  • The UCJF. Its PIP role in our sources is for homes with no auto insurance, so a Basic household starts with its own $15,000; see what the UCJF is.

Questions people ask

Is the Basic Policy legal in New Jersey?

Yes. DOBI describes it as meeting the minimum legal requirements at a lower cost. The minimums by policy date are on NJ minimum car insurance limits for 2026.

What is SAIP, the dollar-a-day policy?

A separate policy for people on federal Medicaid with hospitalization. DOBI's 2026 guide puts its cost at $365 a year.

Does a Basic Policy pay to fix my car?

Only if you bought optional collision or comprehensive from an insurer that offers it. The $5,000 property damage liability pays for other people's property.

Hurt by a driver who only had a Basic Policy? Answer a few New Jersey questions and a lawyer's office may review your claim for free.

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Advertisement. Opens the New Jersey questionnaire. Review its policies and contact consent before submitting your details. No legal advice or guarantee of acceptance or compensation.

What a Basic Policy, SAIP and a Standard Policy each pay in seven situations is in Basic Policy vs Standard Policy after a crash. The first-week steps are in what to do after a New Jersey car accident.

Sources

  1. DOBI, New Jersey Auto Insurance Buyer's Guide 2026, pp. 4 to 5 and 10. Read 10 November 2026.
  2. DOBI Basic Policy page. Read 10 November 2026.
  3. New Jersey No-Fault Act, tort option section, Justia 2025 edition, archived copy. Read 10 November 2026.
  4. NJ Supreme Court, Murray v. Punina, May 2026, on the 2019 amendment. Read 10 November 2026.
  5. NJDOT crash records, normalized by the open-source nj-crashes project; our count of 2023 and 2024, 2025 preliminary. Read 11 November 2026.
How we counted
  • Our count of NJDOT police crash records: crashes with at least one person hurt or killed, by how many people were coded suspected serious, suspected minor or possible injury. 2023 and 2024 complete, 2025 preliminary.
  • Police records do not show which policy any driver carried; the counts show how often several people are hurt at once, not how often a Basic limit was reached. The $24,000 example is arithmetic, not a case.
  • General information, not legal advice; Injuries Cases Autos is not a law firm.