Five Small But Important Things To Observe In Dollar A Day Car Insurance Nj

Leslie Garcia was captivated aback it amount her alone $1 a day to assure the 10-year-old Chevy Lumina she had bought in the spring.

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But she abstruse a adamantine assignment one morning aftermost summer aback addition car comatose into the Lumina as Garcia, a 28-year-old mother of two from Elizabeth, Union County, collection to work. Garcia abiding two burst ribs and a close cartilage injury. She appropriate concrete assay for aback pain. Garcia said that a anniversary afterwards the accident, she suffered a miscarriage. Her car had been totaled, and tow-yard accumulator fees were abacus up while she was out of work.

Garcia apparent the added disciplinarian did not accept insurance, so she alleged her insurer. The abettor said that her dollar-a-day action would pay for her emergency allowance assay - and annihilation else. And beneath the dollar-a-day Special Automobile Allowance Action accustomed in New Jersey - which provides no accountability or claimed abrasion advantage - she could not aggregate from the state's uninsured motorist fund.

"It has basically bankrupt my life," Garcia said. "Dollar-a-day was like accepting no insurance. Added than one advocate told me I would accept been bigger off accepting no allowance at all."

Few motorists apprehend that bags of bodies are active accurately in New Jersey afterwards accountability advantage until they are complex in an blow with one of those drivers. The Press of Atlantic City appear in an Aug. 16 babysitter adventure that blow victims addled by drivers with dollar-a-day behavior end up basement the bill. Sometimes the victims' allowance alike goes up.

The Press estimates that 22,000 New Jersey drivers with dollar-a-day behavior are causing 1,100 accidents and $4.7 actor in blow per year. While they're a babyish allotment of drivers, their numbers are growing. Industry statistics appearance that the 19,000 behavior issued so far this year already exceeds aftermost year's absolute by 500.

Garcia's acquaintance illustrates addition blow of dollar-a-day policies, one that attorneys and allowance agents warned about: Motorists who anticipate they are "covered" because they accept what the accompaniment considers car allowance apprentice they are apparent to potentially ample losses and bills afterward an accident.

Keith Zaid, an Atlantic City claimed abrasion advocate with 30 years of experience, said he sees audience who don't apprehend how little aegis dollar-a-day behavior provide. Not alone do they abridgement accountability and acreage blow coverage, but they are apprenticed by exact beginning accoutrement that acutely absolute their adeptness to sue for affliction and suffering.

"They acquisition out aback article bad happens, but again it's too late," Zaid said.

Some agents said they acquaint barter abroad from dollar-a-day policies. But attorneys said the cardinal of dollar-a-day audience who alarm them for advice suggests that abounding don't accept the policies.

"There's no way these companies are answer to bodies what it means," said advocate Scott Grossman of Freehold. "What they say is, 'I can exhausted the added guy's price.'"

Illiana Melendez of Camden said that's absolutely what happened to her. She said a Camden allowance abettor told her the dollar-a-day affairs was advised to assure poor people, so she active up. She said that one morning in August 2007, she couldn't stop her car on a rain-slicked Route 70 and was complex in an accident.

Melendez, 29, said she was abashed to apprentice her action did not accept accountability coverage. A accusation adjoin her resulted in a $6,500 acumen for damages. Melendez said her authorization was abeyant because she wasn't acquainted of the acumen and is affronted to get it restored.

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"It's a scam," she said. "It was never explained to me that there was no liability. All I was told was it was $365 and to aloof assurance here. I would accept never purchased this blazon of allowance if I had known."

To authorize for a dollar-a-day policy, a disciplinarian charge be accepting Medicaid benefits. Garcia said her Medicaid ran out July 31, the day afterwards her accident; she absent Medicaid afterwards accepting a job accretion computer accessories for an engineering firm. She said she didn't apprehend her car allowance wouldn't pay for medical treatments above the emergency room.

"I was attractive for the cheapest allowance because I had an old car," Garcia said. "I didn't apprehend that any allowance action would abide that didn't accommodate coverage."

She said that now she has no car and is adverse bags of dollars in bills. She said the tow backyard appear her totaled car as alone to the Accompaniment Police because she cannot acquiesce its $2,600 accumulator fee. Garcia said she fears her authorization could be abeyant for abortion to pay the bill.

Garcia said she wrote to Gov. Jon S. Corzine allurement why dollar-a-day behavior are allowed, but got no reply. In acknowledgment to a Press inquiry, the Governor's Office dedicated the program.

"Insurance affairs and programs in New Jersey accept badly bigger during the aftermost few years. This affairs is an important apparatus to accredit acceptable individuals the befalling to accurately drive to work, appropriately acceptable advantageous citizens bigger able to affliction for their families," agent Robert Corrales said in an e-mailed statement.

Corzine's Republican opponent, Chris Christie, did not acknowledge to requests for comment.

However, absolute applicant Chris Daggett said The Press's allegation appear a candor affair that should be addressed. He questioned why a babyish allotment of action premiums couldn't be acclimated to extend uninsured motorists advantage to accidents involving dollar-a-day motorists.

Stephen Carrellas, arch of the state's National Motorists Association chapter, said his advancement accumulation opposes binding allowance laws. But he additionally said that accustomed the aftereffect of the state's laws, New Jersey could extend uninsured and under-insured aegis to the almost babyish cardinal of behavior that don't accommodate such coverage.

Daggett said award a way to acquiesce the poor to drive to assignment "is not a bad amusing policy." And alike if all drivers had at atomic a basal action - which costs alone hardly added than dollar-a-day and provides some accountability and claimed abrasion advantage - blow victims and drivers still ability not be fabricated whole, he said.

But he said added assay would crop a solution, and he accepted why blow victims are angry. Readers contacted The Press afterwards its antecedent address was appear to accurate abuse that assertive bodies are exempted from New Jersey's claim to backpack accountability insurance.

Sandy Gibson, 51, of Winslow Township, Camden County, was active through Camden in April 2008 aback a car airtight the agent abaft her into her Lexus. Gibson's rear bonanza was destroyed, and she begin her additional annoy in the street. Repairs amount $3,000.

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But Gibson's advocate told her the added disciplinarian had a dollar-a-day action that didn't accommodate accountability coverage.

"Her allowance aggregation said, 'Basically, you're on your own,'" Gibson said.

"I was livid. There's such an accent on alive bodies accepting to get coverage," said Gibson, a adolescent corrections officer. "But there are altered rules based on your income."

Gibson said she still adventures aback and close affliction from the accident. She said she wonders why the accompaniment allows drivers like the one who hit her to be on the road.

Anthony Natale, 42, of Marlborough, Monmouth County, said his wife and babe had to accept concrete assay afterwards addition car hit endemic on Dec. 30.

"My wife said the aberrant affair was that the added guy aloof stood there laughing," he said.

Natale said he couldn't accept a action existed that provides no accountability coverage. He resented accepting to pay his family's medical bills and a deductible to adjustment the car.

"I accomplished why this adolescent had such a condescending attitude," Natale said. "He had annihilation to lose."

Garcia is acute bent accuse in bounded cloister adjoin the uninsured disciplinarian who hit her car. Garcia said the prosecutor and accessible apostle accept apprenticed her to bead the case, adage the added being could lose her authorization and be clumsy to drive to work. She said they additionally told her she won't get any money from the case.

"I absent a car. I absent my baby. I bankrupt some ribs. I antipodal a cartilage in my neck. I absent two months account of wages. They abhorrent me for accepting that insurance, like it was my fault," Garcia said. "I anticipate at the least, this being should get her authorization suspended.

"I achievement addition does article about this dollar-a-day allowance law," she added. "It has acquired me annihilation but grief."

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New Jersey's "dollar-a-day" car allowance affairs has created a growing chic of motorists who can drive accurately afterwards acknowledging with the accompaniment claim to backpack accountability coverage. Added dollar-a-day behavior accept already been issued this year than in all of 2008.

Accidents acquired by dollar-a-day drivers are costing blow victims and their insurers an estimated $4.7 actor per year.

Motorists who charge bottom the bills aback they are hit by dollar-a-day drivers are not the alone victims. Bodies who assurance up for dollar-a-day behavior generally do not accept how little advantage is provided until afterwards they accept an accident.

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Basic facts about New Jersey's dollar-a-day car allowance policies

Under the alleged "dollar-a-day" allowance program, about 22,000 low-income motorists are accurately accustomed to drive in this accompaniment afterwards accustomed property-damage accountability insurance.

Only assertive Medicaid recipients are acceptable for dollar-a-day insurance, which costs $365.

The action pays as abundant as $250,000 to amusement alone the action holder's austere blow injuries, and includes a $10,000 afterlife benefit.

Because the behavior accommodate no accountability coverage, motorists who are hit by dollar-a-day drivers bottom the adjustment bills. Since dollar-a-day drivers are poor and accept few assets, blow victims accept little to accretion by suing.

Basic car allowance behavior that accommodate some accountability and claimed abrasion advantage can be acquired for as little as $50 to $100 more.

Applying accepted blow ante and boilerplate costs, The Press estimates that dollar-a-day drivers account 1,100 accidents a year in New Jersey and $4.7 actor in damages.

Last year, added than 18,500 dollar-a-day behavior were issued. As of Oct. 9, added than 19,000 behavior accept already been issued this year.