In New Jersey there is a Special Auto Insurance Policy (SAIP) that is a dollar a day thus $365 a year. The NJ Department of Banking and Insurance notes that the Special Automobile Insurance Policy is an initiative to help make limited auto insurance coverage available to drivers who are eligible for Federal Medicaid with hospitalization. Such drivers can obtain a medical coverage-only car insurance policy at a cost of $365 a year.
This type of insurance is not dependent upon a certain age so senior citizens as well as younger drivers may be eligible for what the NJ Office of the Insurance terms the Dollar-A-Day policy. This type of car insurance policy makes you legal to drive but does not provide any protection (Liability coverages).
The SAIP policy covers emergency treatment immediately following an accident and all treatment of serious brain and spinal cord injuries up to $250,000. The SAIP policy also provides a $10,000 death benefit.
The SAIP policy DOES NOT COVER damage you may cause to other persons or property (Liability coverage), or damages to your own car (Collision and Comprehensive coverages). The SAIP policy also does not cover outpatient treatment (non-emergency doctor visits, physical therapy, etc.).
Under the "dollar-a-day" insurance program, qualifying low-income motorists in NJ are allowed to drive legally without carrying Property Damage Liability or Bodily Injury Liability insurance which is not good if you are hit by a person carrying this coverage since it is not even the basic minimum coverages that the state normally requires a driver to have. No additional Liability is required to operate your vehicle if you purchased the Dollar-A-Day coverage and the policy only covers your injuries in an accident, not the party you damaged in any way.
Started under former Governor McGreevey in 2003, the SAIP program allows drivers on New Jersey's roads with policies that cover no more than hospitalization for their own injuries really.
Only qualified low-income residents who receive Medicaid benefits are eligible for the dollar a day policy so senior citizens are often eligible. The SAIP program does not include in it basic Liability coverages but it provides a valid New Jersey insurance identification card, allowing people who could otherwise not afford insurance to drive legally. It was designed for people who need to get to work and are very poor is what the state representatives have said.
The eligibility requirements include that the applicant must be currently uninsured. Also the applicant must be enrolled in a Medicaid program that provides hospitalization. Not all Medicaid enrollees are eligible. To determine if you are eligible, bring your Medicaid ID card to an insurance producer. Insurance producers can determine eligibility by contacting Medicaid.
The policy only covers those enrolled in Medicaid. If there is one car and several people in the household enrolled in Medicaid, they can all be covered by the same policy. However, there can only be one car per policy.
You cannot get a policy if your driver's license or registration is revoked or suspended. In addition to driver's licenses for all operators of the vehicle to be insured and the vehicle's registration, you need to bring a Medicaid identification card that shows that all persons to be covered under the policy are enrolled in Medicaid.
If you do get this dollar-a-day coverage since it does not include Liability coverages it would leave you unprotected in that manner, if you are at fault in an accident, since you are still responsible for the damages caused.
The SAIP can be obtained at most New Jersey insurance agencies. If you are not sure how to get one, you can call the NJ Personal Automobile Insurance Plan (PAIP) customer service number at 1-800-652-2471.
CarInsurance.com can help you find a low cost personal auto insurance policy that is more that what the SAIP plan offers so that you have Liability coverages and are better protected if at fault in an accident. You can also get quotes including full coverage to see if your finances allow you get this extra coverage so that if an uninsured or person with SAIP hits you, your vehicle is covered.
Older people are barred from this program since they are on medicare with Medicaid as the supplement. They are just as poor as the other Medicaid drivers but they cannot get saip
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