The four insurance companies that will sell insurance to New Jersey residents via the Obamacare website have announced new rates for 2017 that

(Star-Ledger file photo)

have an average increase of 7.56 percent, according to a calculation by Politico NJ.

That puts the average increase well below the rates seen in other states, Politico said. Rates in neighboring New York and Pennsylvania were jumping 17 percent and 23.6 percent.

Nationally, hikes have been projected to average about 10 percent, according to Kaiser Health News, as the cost of health care continues to rise more briskly than the rate of inflation.

The fifth insurer that participated in Obamacare in New Jersey, Oxford Health, announced earlier this year that it was pulling out of the federal exchange in almost all the states where it sold individual plans. The reason was that the people who signed up for the policies turned out to use more health services than their calculations had assumed.

About 250,000 New Jersey residents are covered by insurance they purchased through the federal exchange. About four out of five of them have incomes low enough that their monthly premiums are lowered by government subsidies.

Open enrollment on Healthcare.gov begins Nov. 1 for insurance that kicks in Jan. 1, 2017. People who want their insurance coverage to start that day must apply by Dec. 15th.

The open enrollment period ends Jan. 31, 2017. After that, an applicant must cite some major change in lifestyle - marriage, divorce, job loss, or birth of a child - to sign up for or change coverage.

People who already purchased insurance through the website will be automatically renewed in their selected policies if they don't select an alternative plan.

Kathleen O'Brien may be reached at kobrien@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @OBrienLedger. Find NJ.com on Facebook.