Traditionally, New Jersey’s no-fault statute was interpreted to allow a plaintiff in a personal injury suit to recover unreimbursed medical expenses that exceeded his PIP coverage.  This was not an issue when all policies carried a required $250,000 in PIP coverage.  Over the years, however, the state legislature tweaked the PIP requirements, allowing insureds to purchase automobile liability policies with lower PIP limits to combat the rising cost of policy premiums.  Today, insureds can designate their health insurer as their primary PIP carrier, or purchase auto policies with PIP coverage as low as $15,000.  The courts, however, continued to view any medical expenses exceeding an insured’s PIP coverage recoverable, except where those expenses were paid by a private health insurer.            

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