PIANJ Protests Ads In EZPass Statements

Use of advertising in Turnpike Authority's EZPass statements is wrong

Trenton, NJ - If you use EZPass in New Jersey, expect to receive junk mail from GEICO (an auto insurer) and other advertisers, courtesy of a the state Turnpike Authority; an action the Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Inc. says is improper. PIANJ has urged Assemblyman Neil Cohen (D-Union) to investigate this practice and to ask that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority cease a pilot program that sends EZPass holders ads with their statements in the mail by way of a Connecticut-based marketing firm.

"PIANJ believes that sending advertisements for any for-profit enterprise is wrong. The implied endorsement of state government should not be for sale to the highest bidder," said PIANJ President John A. Latimer, Esq.

"We applaud Assemblyman Cohen's recognition that a state authority should not support any single company over another in ours, or any, industry. And, we appreciate his taking action. We join his disapproval by asking the Turnpike Authority to immediately suspend any mailing of insurance solicitations with EZPass or any state-associated materials," Latimer said.

PIA affiliates in other states have addressed this practice with some success. In Ohio, PIA persuaded Governor Bob Taft to intervene and halt the distribution of fliers from any single insurance company, and specifically Allstate Auto Insurance, inside mailers for vehicle registration reminders. As of this month, these types of advertisements will not be put into the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles notices. Governor Taft requested that no ads that may be viewed as a conflict of interests or that may encourage drivers to think they must endorse a particular product related to their vehicles be used in the mailers.

Since the request, auto insurance companies have complied willingly and have not submitted any bids for placement in Ohio. That success has encouraged PIA of New York to renew its criticisms of the same practice by the Department of Motor Vehicles in its state.

SOURCE: PIANJ