TRENTON, N.J., February 16 – There are more than five million motorists carrying car insurance in New Jersey, and more than half of them buy liability coverage of more than $100/300,000.

According to the latest figures from the state Insurance Department, there are now 5,002,267 car owners insured, or nearly 85,000 more than the number who had coverage in the previous year.

These figures mean the car insurance premium volume in the state is about $5 billion, handled by 59 car insurance companies, the best showing ever.

It also indicates that about 13 percent of the states registered private passenger cars, about 741,000 of them are not insured, a figure that is much more than the estimated 650,000 uninsured vehicles by the Governors office.

However considering that the average insurance premium for one car is about $1,100 a year, having 87 percent of registered vehicles insured is considered a good showing.

As of June 30, the latest figures available, 93 percent the insureds opted for the verbal threshold in exchange for lower insurance premiums. By agreeing to select the verbal threshold a motorist can only sue for pain and suffering from an automobile accident if there is a serious injury. The threshold selection generally reduces the yearly premium by about 25 percent.

About six percent of the insureds, 340,000 of them, did not opt for the threshold " a choice that means they can sue for pain and suffering for any injuries received in a car accident.

Only 310,000 policyholders bought the basic liability limits of $15,000/ $30,000 while over a million policyholders went for liability coverages of $250,000/$500,000 or $500,000.

Most of the policyholders opted for a $250 deductible on Personal Injury Protection payments while a quarter million of them chose the $2,500 deductible for PIP coverage.