Uninsured Motorist Coverage for Seniors in New Jersey
New Jersey requires uninsured motorist coverage, and for older drivers it often matters more, not less, because medical costs from a crash tend to run higher.
Yes, and New Jersey already requires it
New Jersey law requires insurers to include uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage on every auto policy written in the state. You already have it unless you signed a form rejecting it, which is unusual and not something most drivers do.
The real question for a senior driver isn't whether to have it. It's whether the limits you carry are high enough to matter if you're ever hit by a driver with no insurance or too little of it. That depends on the limits you chose when you bought the policy, not your age.
Your coverage limits, not your birth year
Uninsured motorist coverage in New Jersey is sold at the same limits as your liability coverage unless you asked for something different. If you bought a policy years ago and never revisited it, your uninsured motorist limit might be lower than what you'd want covering a serious injury today.
This matters more as you get older because recovery from a crash tends to take longer and cost more. A broken hip or a long hospital stay at seventy is a different financial event than the same injury at thirty. The insurance company that's supposed to pay isn't yours in this case, it's the uninsured driver's, except they have no coverage, so your own uninsured motorist coverage is what pays instead.
Check your declarations page for the uninsured motorist limit listed there. If it looks low next to your liability limit, call your insurer and ask what it would cost to raise it. This is usually one of the more affordable coverages to increase.
What a lapse or a gap can do to this coverage
Uninsured motorist coverage follows your policy, so if your policy lapses, even briefly, you lose that protection until it's reinstated. Seniors who let a policy lapse while switching insurers, or while a family member manages the renewal, sometimes don't realize there was a gap until something happens during it.
Another place this goes wrong is when a household has multiple cars and only some of them carry the higher limit. If you or a spouse drive different vehicles, ask your agent whether the uninsured motorist limit is the same across every car on the policy, since it isn't always automatic.
If a family member handles your insurance for you, make sure they know to tell you before any policy change goes through, not after. A renewal that quietly reduces this coverage to save money is one of the more common ways people end up underinsured without choosing to be.
Questions people ask about this
does uninsured motorist coverage pay for my medical bills or my car?
It can cover both, but they're often separate parts of the coverage. Uninsured motorist bodily injury pays for medical costs and related losses, while property damage from an uninsured driver may fall under a different part of your policy or your collision coverage. Ask your insurer how your specific policy splits this.
what happens if the other driver has some insurance but not enough?
That's underinsured motorist coverage, which usually comes paired with uninsured motorist coverage in New Jersey. It pays the difference between what the at-fault driver's insurer covers and what your damages actually come to, up to your policy's limit.
can i be denied uninsured motorist coverage because of my age?
No. New Jersey requires this coverage on every auto policy regardless of the driver's age. An insurer can't exclude it for being a senior, though your premium for the overall policy can reflect other factors the insurer is allowed to use.
do i still need this coverage if i rarely drive anymore?
Yes, if you're still insured and driving at all, including as a passenger in your own car. Uninsured motorist coverage also applies if you're a pedestrian or a passenger hit by an uninsured driver, so it isn't only about your own driving.
how do i find out what my current uninsured motorist limit is?
Look at the declarations page of your policy, which lists each type of coverage and its limit separately. If you can't find it or don't understand what you're looking at, call your insurer or agent and ask them to read you the uninsured and underinsured motorist limits directly.
If you're not sure your limits still make sense for you, it's worth seeing what other insurers would offer at a higher level.
Pull out your current policy's declarations page and find the uninsured and underinsured motorist limits. Call your insurer or agent this week and ask directly whether those limits match your liability limits, and what it would cost to raise them. If anyone else manages your policy, ask them to confirm there's been no lapse in coverage recently. While you're at it, check whether every vehicle on the policy carries the same uninsured motorist limit. Then compare what you have against quotes from a couple of other insurers to see whether better coverage is available for a similar cost.
