What is a car accident claim worth in New Jersey?

Every rule below is quoted from New Jersey law or a state agency, with a link. Checked September 17, 2026.

New Jersey · Choice no fault2 yearsto sue for injuries

The short answer

Nobody can price your claim from a web page, and any site that gives you one number is guessing. What we can show you is real: the amount insurers actually paid per claim in New Jersey, and the New Jersey rules that raise or lower what you collect. $39,679 was the average injury claim paid in New Jersey in 2022.

Six questions, no sign up

Nothing you pick is sent anywhere or saved. The answer appears on this page.

Was anyone hurt?
Who caused the crash?
Does the other driver have insurance?
How bad is the car?
Did anyone miss work?
Did police write a report?

What claims paid in New Jersey

Injury claims in New Jersey averaged $39,679 each in 2022.

Car and property damage claims averaged $6,298.

Average amount paid per claim in New Jersey, 2022. Source: NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report.
Injury claim paid by the at fault driver's insurance$39,679
Car and property damage$6,298
Personal injury protection, paid by your own policy$18,281
Medical payments coverage, paid by your own policy$6,619
Collision coverage, paid by your own policy$6,982

These are averages of every claim insurers closed, from the largest to the smallest. A claim with a hospital stay sits far above the average, and a fender bender sits far below it.

What changes the number in New Jersey

If you were partly at fault

New Jersey uses modified comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar. You can recover money only if your share of fault is 50 percent or less. If you are more than half at fault, you recover nothing.

“plaintiff's percentage of fault must be 50% or less. If the plaintiff's percentage is more than 50%, plaintiff will not recover damages at all”

N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1

The other driver's policy limit is the ceiling

As of January 1, 2026, a standard New Jersey policy must carry at least $35,000 per person and $70,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 for property damage. These numbers do not apply to the separate, lower cost basic policy.

“These provisions of the Act increase the minimum limits of liability for Per Person Coverage to $35,000 and Per Accident Coverage to $70,000. The minimum limit for Property Damage Coverage remains $25,000.”

N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3, as amended by P.L.2022, c.87

If the other driver has no insurance

Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage is required on a standard policy, at the same dollar limits as your bodily injury liability coverage. The basic policy does not have this requirement.

“Except for a basic automobile insurance policy, no motor vehicle liability policy or renewal of such policy of insurance... shall be issued in this State... unless it includes coverage in limits for bodily injury or death as follows”

N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1

The deadline that ends the claim

You have 2 years from the crash to file a lawsuit for your injuries.

“every action at law for an injury to the person caused by the wrongful act, neglect or default of any person within this State shall be commenced within two years next after the cause of any such action shall have accrued”

N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2

What a lawyer takes if you hire one

New Jersey caps contingency fees in personal injury and similar injury claims on a sliding scale that shrinks as the recovery gets bigger. A lawyer cannot charge more than a third of the first $750,000 recovered, with lower percentages above that.

“an attorney shall not contract for, charge, or collect a contingent fee in excess of the following limits: (1) 33 1/3% on the first $750,000 recovered; (2) 30% on the next $750,000 recovered; (3) 25% on the next $750,000 recovered; (4) 20% on the next $750,000”

N.J. Ct. R. 1:21-7(c)

Sources on this page

Each one was opened and checked on September 17, 2026.

  1. N.J.S.A. 2A:15-5.1
  2. N.J.S.A. 39:6A-3, as amended by P.L.2022, c.87
  3. N.J.S.A. 17:28-1.1
  4. N.J.S.A. 2A:14-2
  5. N.J. Ct. R. 1:21-7(c)

Know My Claim is not a law firm or a government agency, and this page is not legal advice. Laws change, so check the linked source before you rely on a deadline.