N.J. ‘Bad Faith’ Bill Advances To State Assembly

The New Jersey state Legislature passed S-1559 on Jan. 10, 2022, which would allow consumers to bring ‘bad-faith’ lawsuits against insurers to remove certain recoverable expenses.

Specifically, the ‘bad faith’ bill would allow consumers to bring lawsuits against insurers for an unreasonable delay or unreasonable denial of a claim, for payment of benefits under an insurance policy.

The legislation was amended several times before it was passed. Most recently, the bill was amended in several small—but significant—ways.

According to the bill, those who would be able to recover expenses would be individuals who are injured in car accidents and who are entitled to the uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage of insurance policies—either directly or on behalf of insureds under the policies.

Amendments to the bill, which were approved last month, would allow for a claimant to recover up to three times the applicable policy limits. Additionally, claimants would be permitted to recover expenses that would include pre- and post- judgment interest, reasonable attorneys’ fees and reasonable litigation expenses.