NJIUA was created
as a legislative outgrowth of the Kerner Commission on Civil Rights,
following riots in Newark, Detroit and Washington, D.C. during
the summer of 1967. The Congressional sub-committee on insurance,
chaired by Governor Hughes of New Jersey, found that lack of insurance
was a contributing factor to high unemployment and lack of development
in urban areas. The Commission recommended that states take steps
to make insurance available in urban areas.
In the late 1960s
and early 1970s, FAIR Plans were established in 29 states. They
were created by the insurance industry as a means to make property
insurance more readily available to people who have difficulty obtaining
coverage from voluntary market insurers because their property is
considered "high risk."
The New Jersey Insurance
Underwriting Association was organized in 1968, pursuant to Chapter
129, laws of New Jersey. The enabling Statute 17:37A 1-22 provides
that:
Essential property
insurance is necessary to attract and retain private capital,
supply needed goods and services, expand job opportunities, enable
homeowners to obtain financing for purchase and improvement of
their property, and promote orderly community development.
All voluntary admitted
market insurance companies writing property insurance within New
Jersey on a direct basis are members of the Association. A 21 member
Board of Directors acts as the Association's policy making body.
They represent insurance companies, agent and broker associations,
and the general public. The New Jersey State Department of Banking
and Insurance has oversight responsibility for NJIUA. Day to day
activities are carried out by a staff of insurance professionals
employed by the Association.
