Broker Slated As N.J. Gov. Not Insurer Friendly?

By Steve Tuckey

NU Online News Service, Aug. 20, 8:50 a.m. EDT?Despite the fact that he is an insurance broker, the state senator scheduled to become New Jersey's next Democratic governor has sponsored a bill that a trade group sees as unfriendly to insurer interests.[@@]

The measure, which would eliminate insurers' limits on auto injury awards in certain cases, is the product of Sen. Richard Codey, who heads the Olympic Insurance Agency in his home town of West Orange, N.J.

Sen. Codey, the Senate majority leader, is expected to take over the top job in mid-November if Gov. James McGreevey follows through on his current plan announced Aug. 12 to resign. The governor said he was resigning because he had an extramarital affair with a man.

If Mr. McGreevey continues to resist calls to resign by Sept. 3 in time for a special gubernatorial election in November, Sen. Codey in taking over his term would serve until January 2006.

For Sen. Codey, who has represented his suburban Newark-area district for 22 years, it will be his second stint as acting governor. He was one of a number of legislators who took on the role following the resignation of Gov. Christine Todd Whitman to join the Bush Administration as head of the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington. She has since left that post.

The senator's bill that has the insurance industry particularly concerned would change a standard for lawsuits by drivers who have personal auto injury coverage under the state's no-fault system.

New Jersey motorists who opt for no-fault coverage, rather than a policy that gives them an unfettered right to sue, are currently prevented from bringing suit for pain and suffering unless the injury is shown to be both serious and permanent.

Under the bill the requirement that the injury has "a serious impact to the life of the claimant" would be removed.

"We believe this bill could undo auto insurance reform efforts made last year," said Richard Stokes, N.J. representative of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

It remains unclear at this point just how much support Sen. Codey will actually provide for the bill. Mr. Stokes opined he may have put it in place simply to air the issue, which trial lawyers have been pushing for..

Other measures up for consideration in the legislature this year are revisions to both the property-casualty and surplus lines guarantee funds, as well as approval of the Interstate Compact dealing with life product review issues.

Last year the state passed auto insurance reforms that the McGreevey Administration has trumpeted as one of its major successes using televised commercial featuring the governor.

Sen. Codey did not take a leading role as sponsor in that reform effort which was passed unanimously in the Senate.

Magdalena Padilla, of the Insurance Council of New Jersey, said that there is currently not that sizable of a property-casualty agenda that Mr. Codey will face in the dual roles as acting governor and senate majority leader.

"From an insurance perspective, what we think he is going to be seeing is a clear road to stay the course, which is what McGreevey had been doing. Between the two administrations, we are hoping there will not be a change from the effort to stay the course on auto reform," she said.

Ms. Padilla said besides the pain and suffering measure she was not aware of any other effort to roll back the reforms, but said that any change of administration could bring surprises.

Just this week Insurance Commissioner Holly Bakke joined officials from Mercury General in celebrating their first anniversary doing business in the state. As the first carrier to enter the state's auto insurance market in the past seven years, Mercury General has written more than 40,000 policies and has appointed more than 300 agents.

Officials also announced that Geico was reentering the state's market after 27 years.

Sen. Codey's primary area of legislative activity has involved legalized gambling measures. He also made a name for himself for the undercover investigation of conditions at Marlboro State Hospital psychiatric facility.

Assemblyman Neil Cohen, who chairs the Financial Services and Insurance Committee, said he did not think that Sen. Codey's role as an insurance agent would affect his legislative outlook.

"I don't think it will affect his perspective at all," he said. "Dick has always been pretty much balanced as a legislator in terms of insurance and consumer issues. In the health insurance area, he has been an advocate of making sure coverage exists for as many people as possible. It brings him experience and an intimate knowledge, which is always helpful."

Special Reports /

Broker Slated As N.J. Gov. Not Insurer Friendly?

Related Stories

Recommended For You