New Jersey Raises Minimum Auto Liability to $35,000/$70,000/$25,000

Ghost Broking Scams Target Young Drivers on Instagram and TikTok

Ghost broking, a fraud scheme in which scammers advertise fake low cost auto insurance policies on social media, collect premiums, and vanish, has surged across U.S. digital platforms, leaving victims uninsured and often unaware until they file a claim or are pulled over by police. The fraud typically unfolds in three steps: a scammer creates a convincing social media account posing as an independent insurance broker, advertises rates far below legitimate market prices to attract young drivers struggling with high premiums, and either fabricates a policy document entirely or alters a real policy by changing the named insured or coverage dates. According to the source article, victims often discover they have no valid coverage only after an accident or traffic stop, at which point they face citations for driving uninsured, out of pocket repair costs, and the urgent need to secure legitimate coverage immediately. Over 680,000 Progressive customers came to Save Max Auto's database of 3.3 million+ quote requests looking for better rates, more than any other major insurer in our database, and ghost broking victims who discover they have no real coverage often scramble to secure legitimate policies quickly. The financial consequences are severe: uninsured motorist citations can result in license suspension, fines exceeding $500 in many states, and a requirement to file an SR 22 certificate for three years, which alone can double or triple future premiums.

Federal and state enforcement agencies have ramped up prosecutions in response to the spike in social media driven insurance fraud. NICB's most recent published data confirms that 850,708 vehicles were stolen in 2024, a 17% year over year decline from 2023's peak, but insurance fraud overall, including ghost broking, remains a multi billion dollar problem that drives up premiums for all policyholders. The FBI's Financial Crimes Section has identified ghost broking as a priority enforcement area, particularly as scammers increasingly target drivers aged 18 to 25 who face the highest legitimate premiums and are most active on Instagram and TikTok. State insurance departments in California, Texas, Florida, and New York have issued consumer alerts warning drivers to verify any broker's license status through official state databases before making a payment, and to confirm policy issuance directly with the carrier by calling the insurer's customer service line, not a number provided by the broker. Victims who paid a ghost broker and later filed a claim often learn they were never listed on any active policy; in some cases, the scammer used stolen credit card information to purchase a short term policy that was canceled within days, leaving the victim uninsured for months without realizing it. Enforcement actions have resulted in arrests and felony convictions in multiple states, but the decentralized nature of social media advertising and the ease with which scammers can create new accounts make the schemes difficult to eradicate entirely.

New Jersey Raises Minimum Liability to $35,000/$70,000/$25,000 , First Increase Since 1990

New Jersey drivers will face a new baseline for auto insurance coverage starting January 1, 2027, when the state's minimum liability limits jump from $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident/$5,000 property damage to $35,000/$70,000/$25,000 , the first increase in 36 years, according to the source article. The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance cited escalating medical costs and average bodily injury claim payouts that have tripled since the 1990 limits were set as the rationale for the regulatory change. New Jersey had been operating under one of the lowest minimum liability floors in the nation , the $15,000 per person limit ranked 49th among the 50 states, ahead of only Florida's $10,000 requirement. The new $35,000 bodily injury minimum per person represents 43.8% of New Jersey's per capita personal income of $79,944 (per BEA 2023 data), a figure that contextualizes the state's attempt to balance consumer affordability against rising medical and legal costs in at fault accident claims. Save Max Auto's New Jersey auto insurance guide notes that the state's no fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP) system already requires separate first party medical coverage, but the liability minimums apply when a New Jersey driver is found at fault in an accident involving another party's injuries or property.

The increase positions New Jersey's new minimums above the informal national baseline of $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 recommended by many industry groups, though still below NAIC's most recent published data showing a national average annual auto insurance expenditure of $1,180 , a figure that reflects the growing gap between statutory minimums and the actual coverage levels most drivers purchase. New Jersey's $1,521 average annual expenditure (per NAIC 2024 data) ranks third highest in the nation, behind only Louisiana ($1,743) and Florida ($1,533), and the new liability floor is expected to push premiums modestly higher for drivers who have been carrying only the old $15,000/$30,000/$5,000 minimums. Save Max Auto's database of 3.3 million+ quote requests shows New Jersey accounts for 100,021 requests (3.0% of the total database, the 10th largest state by quote volume), with Progressive, State Farm, and GEICO representing the three most frequently quoted carriers among New Jersey drivers shopping for better rates. The Department of Banking and Insurance emphasized that the new minimums are a floor, not a ceiling, and that drivers with assets to protect should consider higher liability limits , particularly given that a single hospitalization for serious injuries in a multi vehicle accident can easily exceed $100,000 in medical bills alone.

The regulatory change does not affect drivers who already carry liability limits above the new minimums, but it will require policy adjustments for an estimated 18% of New Jersey drivers currently insured at the old $15,000/$30,000/$5,000 floor, according to state insurance department estimates cited in the announcement. Those drivers will see premium increases reflecting the expanded coverage, though the department noted that the cost differential between $15,000 and $35,000 bodily injury per person is typically smaller than the cost of moving from no coverage to minimum coverage, because insurers price the first dollar of liability exposure at the highest marginal cost. The effective date of January 1, 2027 gives carriers 18 months to file revised rate structures and gives consumers time to adjust budgets or shop for competitive quotes under the new minimum structure. Premium figures cited reflect the state's regulatory announcement and NAIC's 2024 Auto Insurance Database Report (released 2025); state averages mask significant within state variation by ZIP code, driver age, claims history, and credit based insurance score where permitted under New Jersey law.

Florida Arrests Five in Staged Crash Insurance Fraud Scheme

Florida authorities arrested five individuals in connection with a staged auto crash insurance fraud scheme, according to the source article citing Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. The five suspects, whose names were not disclosed in the available reporting, face charges related to orchestrating a deliberate collision designed to generate fraudulent insurance claims. While the specific dollar amount of the fraudulent claims was not stated in the source material, the arrests reflect intensified enforcement efforts in a state where insurance fraud prosecutions remain a priority amid persistently high premiums. The investigation was led by the Florida Division of Investigative and Forensic Services, working in coordination with local law enforcement. FBI's most recent published data shows motor vehicle theft rates fell 19.4% nationally from 2023 to 2024, providing broader context for fraud enforcement priorities as theft related fraud schemes also decline alongside overall vehicle crime. Florida continues to rank among the costliest states for auto insurance, and fraud cases like this one contribute to the systemic premium pressures facing drivers across the state, as detailed in Save Max Auto's Florida auto insurance guide.

Save Max Auto's database of 3.3 million+ quote requests shows Florida accounts for 394,845 quote requests, 11.7% of the total database, the single largest state in our system. Fraud prosecutions like this one are part of why Florida premiums remain among the highest nationally. Staged accidents, in which participants deliberately cause or fabricate collisions to file inflated or entirely fictitious claims, impose direct costs on insurers that are ultimately passed to policyholders through higher rates. The Florida CFO's office has historically prioritized fraud enforcement, and this case reflects ongoing coordination between state investigative units and local agencies to identify and prosecute organized fraud rings. The source material did not specify the county or city where the staged crash occurred, nor did it detail the timeline of the investigation or the nature of the staged collision. Florida's high fraud environment, driven by a combination of dense urban traffic, a large uninsured motorist population, and historical patterns of personal injury protection abuse, continues to make the state a focal point for both enforcement activity and insurance cost concerns nationwide.

LexisNexis: Distracted Driving Violations Up 57% Since 2022, Bodily Injury Claims Now 26% of Total Claim Dollars

Distracted driving violations surged 57% nationwide between 2022 and 2025, with the sharpest increases concentrated among drivers aged 36 to 45 (up 70%) and those 66 and older (up 73%), according to the source article released today by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Trends Report, which aggregates driving behavior data, claims metrics, and policy shopping activity from prior years, found that overall traffic violations have returned to pre pandemic levels despite vehicle miles traveled increasing by just 2% over the same period, indicating behavioral shifts rather than simple exposure growth are driving the violation spike. Jeff Batiste, senior vice president and general manager of U.S. auto and home insurance at LexisNexis Risk Solutions, told reporters that "auto insurers continue to navigate a market that is becoming more complex across nearly every dimension," noting that the distracted driving trend is not limited to younger cohorts but has spread across age groups in ways that challenge traditional underwriting assumptions. The violation data arrives as NHTSA's most recent published data confirms 39,345 traffic fatalities in 2024, down from the 42,939 peak in 2021 but still elevated compared to the prior decade, underscoring the real world consequences of risky driving behaviors now showing up in violation records and insurance claims alike.

Bodily injury claims now account for more than 26% of total claim dollars paid by U.S. auto insurers, up from under 20% in 2022, as both frequency and severity of injury claims continue to climb, the LexisNexis report found. At the same time, policy shopping hit record highs in Q4 2025, with 47% of policies in force shopped at least once within the prior 12 months, a behavior driven by sustained rate increases that pushed 56% of consumers to now consider insurance cost as a factor in vehicle purchase decisions, second only to monthly payment affordability. Save Max Auto's database of 3.3 million+ quote requests confirms the policy shopping surge: quote volume rose 23% year over year in Q4 2025, consistent with LexisNexis findings that 47% of policies in force were shopped at least once in the prior 12 months. In response to four years of rate pressure, policyholders adjusted coverage to manage premiums, policies with deductibles of $1,000 or greater increased from 23% in 2022 to 33% in 2025, the report noted. The vehicle mix on U.S. roads is also growing more complex, with 15% of insured vehicles now more than 20 years old while newer vehicles (model year 2020 or later) represent 30% of the insured population, creating pricing challenges as older vehicles require different parts sourcing and repair approaches than late model cars equipped with advanced driver assistance systems and telematics ready hardware. Premium and rate figures cited reflect each source agency's most recently published reports; state and national averages mask significant within state variation by ZIP code, age, vehicle, and rating tier.