First Trenton Indemnity Joins Coalition for Auto Insurance Competition

    NEWARK, N.J.--Sept. 23, 2002--First Trenton Indemnity Company today joined the Coalition for Auto Insurance Competition, signaling growing concern among insurers, consumers and businesses about the continued contraction of New Jersey's auto insurance market.
    "First Trenton recognizes the need for a state regulatory system that promotes competition, encourages companies to sell auto insurance in New Jersey, and creates a stable market," said Phyllis Forsyth, president of First Trenton.
    The Coalition is calling for the enactment of New Jersey Auto Insurance Competition and Choice Act (A-2625), which calls for reforms to attract more auto insurers to New Jersey, spurring competition and increasing consumer choice. The legislation is designed to promote competition in New Jersey and attract additional insurance capital to our state. The latest figures show New Jersey has 47 percent fewer companies selling auto insurance than Illinois and more than a third fewer than neighboring New York and Pennsylvania. More than twenty auto insurance companies have left New Jersey in the past ten years. A-2625 aims to reverse this trend by providing for rate setting, underwriting and other regulatory improvements.
    "This bill is an important achievement toward modernizing the state's auto insurance laws and placing New Jersey in the mainstream of state regulation of auto insurance," said John Friedman, the Coalition's chairman. "The state's auto insurance marketplace is unstable and dysfunctional, requiring immediate reform that instills more company competition and more choices for consumers."
    Originally formed by the auto insurance industry's trade associations (American Insurance Association, Insurance Council of New Jersey, National Association of Independent Insurers) and member companies, the coalition has grown to include substantial participation of businesses, trade associations and thousands of individual consumers who seek meaningful and responsible auto insurance reform in New Jersey. Members include the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce, New Jersey Association of REALTORS(R), New Jersey Retail Merchants Association, New Jersey Food Council and New Jersey Society for Environmental and Economic Development.
    "It's only natural to expect that consumers will shop around for the best deal if they have more choices. Competition and choice benefit consumers, because when companies compete, consumers win," said Friedman.
    First Trenton Indemnity Company was licensed by the state of New Jersey in January, 1992 and began operation in February, 1992. The Company is licensed to sell and service personal property and casualty insurance within the state of New Jersey. The types of insurance sold by First Trenton include automobile, homeowners, personal liability and valuable possessions. First Trenton is a part of The Travelers Property Casualty Corporation. First Trenton Insurance products are primarily sold and serviced through independent insurance agents.