The New Jersey state legislature recently passed a bill making insurance agents' jobs a bit easier

Under current regulations, insurance agents in the state of New Jersey are required to offer auto insurance quotes from every company they work with, which, for independent agents selling insurance from more than one company (as most do) is both costly and time consuming. As well, they are currently required to offer at least three different quotes with different coverage options so that their clients can see how their premiums are affected by specific changes in coverage or coverage limits.

The new bill is a direct response to complaints from agents, who, according to Jack Lynn, president of the Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey (PIANJ) said that the current system, "…places an unnecessary obligation on insurance agents and does not serve consumers because it fails to take into account all factors that agents consider when offering coverage options to consumers."

This bill is backed by PIANJ, as well as the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of New Jersey, and has been sent to Governor Jon Corzine to be signed. It removes both of the requirements mentioned above: no more offering quotes from every company, and no more requirement to generate three different scenarios for comparison.