Justin Zimmerman was appointed to lead the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance by Governor Phil Murphy in June 2023.

As Acting Commissioner, Zimmerman serves as the chief regulator of New Jersey’s insurance industry, one of the largest in the nation, all state-chartered banks and credit unions, as well as consumer finance licensees.  He also leads Get Covered New Jersey, the state’s official health insurance marketplace. 

Zimmerman joined the Department in January 2018, serving as the Department’s Chief of Staff, where he oversaw the executive management team and managed all aspects of the department’s policy implementation, under the direction of the Commissioner.

During his tenure as Chief of Staff, the department developed and implemented numerous consumer protections and programs impacting countless New Jerseyans, including New Jersey’s out of network law, student loan protections, mortgage servicers licensing, expanding access to reproductive health care and Get Covered New Jersey. Since its inception in 2020, Get Covered New Jersey transformed New Jersey’s health insurance landscape for consumers in the individual market, ensuring that more New Jerseyans have greater access to quality, affordable health insurance. New Jersey was the first in the nation to open its marketplace with enhanced state subsidies that lower premiums for most enrollees.

Zimmerman also coordinated the Department’s COVID-19 response, working with regulated entities across all sectors to provide relief to New Jersey’s residents during the pandemic, ranging from insurance premium relief and mortgage forbearance to student loan relief and the expansion of telemedicine without cost sharing.

Acting Commissioner Zimmerman has built an extensive career in public service. Prior to joining Governor Murphy's Administration, Zimmerman served as Chief of Policy and Legislation to the New Jersey State Senate President Pro Tempore, where he focused on expanding access to quality affordable healthcare for New Jerseyans, expansion of voting rights and civil rights. He began his career as a public servant working as a Briefing Aide to Governor Jon Corzine and Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs for the New Jersey Department of State. Prior to joining government service, he was an organizer in Morris County, New Jersey and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Zimmerman was born and raised in New Jersey, growing up in Essex and Union Counties. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Mary Washington College.  He lives in Verona with his wife, Laura, and their two children.