Some potentially good news for New Jersey homeowners – NJ Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-Bergen/Passaic) has introduced a bill that would prevent insurance companies from raising a customer’s insurance premium based on a single claim.
As reported by the Insurance Journal, this bill was created in response to a report released showing U.S. families who file a single homeowners insurance claim can expect their annual premium to increase nine percent. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, homeowner’s insurance costs an average of $978 per year. Based on the study, a single liability claim would add an average of $137 to their annual cost.
According to the bill’s statement “This bill is intended to eliminate such rating and premium increases due to a single claim filed during any one coverage period”.
Under the proposal, an insurer would be subject to a penalty of up to $5,000 for each violation, and if the the insurer knew or reasonably should have known it was in violation of the bill, the penalty could be up to $25,000 for each violation.
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