Cheap Auto Insurance in New York (June 2023)

Your coverage needs and budget influence what car insurance company works best for you. The average monthly cost of insurance in New York is $457, but your age, driving history, and location can influence your car insurance premiums. New York drivers pay much higher rates than the national average of $212 per month, but you can find ways to get affordable premiums.

Here’s what you need to know about finding the best auto insurance in New York.

Best car insurance companies in New York

You have several options when selecting a car insurance company in New York. To narrow down your options, you can compare company features, benefits, and drawbacks based on the type of coverage you want.

Some of the top car insurance companies in New York offer specific coverage that benefits some driver categories more than others. You can find an insurer for you — whether you want it catered to commuters, college students, seniors, or another category of drivers.

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Best car insurance overall: Erie

Erie Insurance

Erie has been providing car insurance in New York since 1995 and earned a high Insurify Quality Score of 4.4 out of 5. Erie gives New York drivers an opportunity to earn discounts for safety, anti-theft devices, lump-sum payments, and being a college student. The company also offers payment plans with different savings options, first accident forgiveness, and a rate lock feature that helps you manage your premiums over time. On average, New York drivers pay $395 per month for liability and $331 for full coverage with Erie.

Best cheap car insurance in New York: Safeco

Safeco

New York drivers often pay expensive premiums, but Safeco offers an affordable option, with liability-only coverage starting at $216 per month and $288 for full coverage. Optional coverages from Safeco include collision, new-vehicle replacement, and rental car reimbursement.

Safeco also earned an Insurify Quality Score of 3.8 out of 5 and offers customers features like first accident forgiveness, a diminishing deductible, and claims-free cash back. With claims-free cash back, Safeco will mail you a check for 2.5% of your policy premium (up to 5% each year) if you don’t file any claims over a six-month review period.

Most affordable car insurance in New York: Travelers

Travelers

Travelers offers several affordable car insurance coverage options in New York, including accident forgiveness and other endorsements. With accident forgiveness, you can avoid a premium increase after your first at-fault car accident with your policy.

The company also earned a high Insurify Quality Score of 4.3 out of 5 and offers new-car replacement coverage as an add-on option. On average, Travelers policyholders pay $163 per month for liability and $198 for full coverage.

Best for commuters: Nationwide

Nationwide

Nationwide has been around for more than 90 years and earned an Insurify Quality Score of 4.1 out of 5. The Nationwide SmartRide program rewards safe drivers with a 10% discount upon enrollment and savings of up to 40% overall. This program can help commuters who spend a lot of time in the car and practice safe driving habits save money.

Nationwide also offers optional coverages like accident forgiveness, roadside assistance, and gap coverage. For full-coverage car insurance from Nationwide, drivers pay an average of $312 per month.

Best for families: Midvale Home & Auto

Midvale Home & Auto

Coverage from Midvale Home & Auto can meet your family’s basic auto and home insurance needs while providing useful additional coverage options and savings opportunities. Customers can save on premiums by bundling auto and homeowners insurance, and the company rewards drivers for insuring multiple vehicles.

Midvale Home & Auto also offers a good student discount and an away at school discount for young drivers attending school at least 100 miles away from their insured vehicle. On average, customers pay $287 per month for liability and $345 for full coverage with Midvale Home & Auto.

Best for college students: Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual

Liberty Mutual offers customizable auto insurance plans based on your needs. This company is a great option for college students. Students with a B- or higher average GPA can earn a good student discount. The company also offers a student away at college discount for those who leave their cars at home.

Liberty Mutual has an Insurify Quality Score of 3.8 out of 5. On average, drivers pay $414 per month for liability and $463 for full coverage.

Best for luxury car owners: Allstate

Allstate

Allstate rewards safe drivers with discounts for driving safely and for insuring a brand-new car. The company also provides umbrella insurance, which can be helpful for luxury car drivers with expensive vehicle repair costs. On average, Allstate drivers pay $591 per month for liability and $495 for full coverage in New York.

Best for rideshare drivers: State Farm

State Farm

With one of the highest Insurify Quality Scores on this list (4.4 out of 5), State Farm provides a quality coverage option for New York drivers — especially for people who drive for a transportation network company, like Uber and Lyft.

State Farm allows you to add rideshare coverage as an extension of your personal car insurance policy. You’ll receive the same coverage levels for your chosen insurance, including liability, collision, comprehensive, and medical payments coverage. On average, State Farm policyholders in New York pay $563 per month for liability and $472 for full coverage.

Best for seniors: Progressive

Progressive

Progressive is a great option for seniors due its features like the Name Your Price tool, diminishing deductible discount, and accident forgiveness coverage. Progressive earned a solid Insurify Quality Score of 4.1 out of 5. The company has flexible customer service hours and a good industry reputation. On average, Progressive drivers in New York pay $363 per month for liability and $471 for full coverage.

How Insurify’s experts used internal proprietary data to rate the top auto insurers

Data scientists at Insurify analyzed more than 40 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partner providers across the United States to compile the car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations displayed on this page. The car insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers’ vehicles, driving records, and demographic information. Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates. With these insights, Insurify is able to offer drivers insight into how companies price their car insurance premiums. The data included on this page represent averages across all driver ages, gender, credit scores, and driver profiles for New York drivers.

How to shop for the best car insurance in New York

You need to consider different factors when shopping for the best car insurance in New York. After making note of the state’s car insurance requirements, think about the following:

• Your desired coverage amount: Determine how much coverage you need — whether it’s liability, collision, uninsured motorist, or comprehensive coverage. Even if you start with liability-only coverage, you should compare what optional coverages insurers offer, including benefits like accident forgiveness and roadside assistance.

• Rates and other features: Using an insurance quote-comparison site or gathering quotes from at least three different insurers can help you find the best rates for your coverage needs.

• Reviews and customer satisfaction: Look at credible customer satisfaction ratings, including the Insurify Quality Score and J.D. Power customer satisfaction ratings, as well as complaints filed with the Better Business Bureau and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

• Available communication methods: How do you wish to communicate with the insurer? Consider your communication expectations regarding whether you want to have your own agent or communicate with customer service.

• Claims-filing process: Make sure you can file claims easily by phone or online. You also may want to confirm whether the insurance company allows you to check the status of your claim online.^[2]

How to get the cheapest car insurance in New York

Finding the cheapest car insurance in New York will depend on your city, age, and driving history, but here are some ways you can work on lowering costs:^[3]

• Ask your insurer about discounts. Most insurers offer multi-policy, safe driver, and multi-vehicle discounts. Make sure your insurer rewards you for all the discounts you qualify for.

• Keep a clean driving record. Avoiding tickets and other driving violations for three to five years helps you earn the most affordable premiums.

• Equip your car with safety and anti-theft features. If your car doesn’t have these features when you buy it, install them to benefit from cheaper premiums. Insurers reward drivers for driving safe vehicles.

• Shop around and gather quotes. Comparing quotes from at least three insurance companies is the best way to find the most affordable premiums.

• Increase your deductible. “​​Drivers can increase their deductible, which may lower the monthly premium, but they need to be prepared to pay more out of pocket if they do have a claim,” says P.J. Miller, vice president and independent insurance agent with Wallace & Turner Insurance.

Minimum car insurance requirements in New York

All motor vehicles operating in New York must meet minimum insurance coverage requirements.^[4] New York is a no-fault state, which means that both parties’ insurance companies will pay for medical expenses in the event of an accident. New York drivers need to carry the following coverage:

Liability-only vs. full-coverage insurance in New York

Liability-only coverage can make sense if you drive an older car and can afford to pay for repairs out of pocket. You may decide on liability-only coverage if you want to save money.

If you want more coverage because you have a new or expensive car, you should consider full-coverage auto insurance, which usually costs more because it includes liability, comprehensive, and collision coverages. Your lender may require you to carry full-coverage insurance if you finance or lease your car.

Comprehensive coverage protects your vehicle against natural disasters, falling objects, fires, theft, riots, civil unrest, and more. You can add collision insurance to help pay for damage to your car due to any type of collision — usually up to the actual cash value of your vehicle.^[5]

Travelers, Safeco, Nationwide, and Erie all offer prices below the New York average for both liability and full-coverage insurance.

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New York car insurance rates by driving and accident history

Driving history significantly affects car insurance rates. Drivers with a clean record earn lower car insurance rates because insurers view tickets and other violations as a driving risk.

This includes speeding tickets, driving under the influence charges, and at-fault accidents, which can stay on your driving record for several years.

You can still lock in reasonable rates despite infractions on your driving record, but you’ll face increased premiums if you have an infraction. Quotes for drivers with an accident start at $283 per month.

SR-22 insurance in New York

An SR-22 form filed by your insurance company with the state’s department of motor vehicles (DMV) verifies that you have sufficient insurance. Some states require SR-22 filing for drivers caught operating a vehicle without insurance or committing a serious violation like a DUI.

Unlike many states, New York doesn’t require you to file an SR-22 form to reinstate your driver’s license after a serious violation. However, you still need to meet the minimum auto insurance requirements to continue driving legally.

New York car insurance quotes by credit tier

New York, like many states, allows insurers to factor in your credit score when calculating car insurance rates. Your credit score shows how well you manage your finances and whether you pay bills on time. Insurance companies use your credit score to determine your insurance score, which helps predict the likelihood of you filing a claim.^[6]

A credit score higher than 720 is considered an excellent score. You’ll typically earn lower rates with a good credit history than with poor credit.

A lower credit score doesn’t always cause expensive insurance premiums because insurers consider many other factors when determining your rate. Still, you can prioritize improving your credit score to earn cheaper rates.

Car insurance quotes in New York cities

Car insurance rates can vary by city within New York, depending on factors like crime frequency, claims filing, population density, accident rates, and more. If you live in an area with increased traffic, like New York City, you may pay more expensive premiums.

Least expensive cities in New York

Most expensive cities in New York

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New York car insurance rates by driver age

Your age can also affect car insurance rates. Insurance companies find that drivers younger than 25 tend to have more accidents than older drivers, so they account for the added risk by charging higher rates.

While prices start out high for teens and young drivers, rates start to decrease once you reach your late 20s and 30s.

New York car insurance FAQs

Insurify Insights

How New York Drivers Measure Up

While most drivers know that car insurance quotes are determined in part by your personal driving history, many may be unaware that rates are also impacted by the average risk of the drivers around you as well. Check out Insurify's latest analysis of driving records in New York below:

Methodology

Drawing from an internal database of over 4 million car insurance applications, the research team at Insurify analyzes patterns in car ownership and driver behavior - including how New York drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across the United States in areas including speeding, DUIs, and more.
Insurify Insights publishes data-driven articles, trend analyses, and national rankings each week on all factors related to cars and those who drive them.

Honda Accord

Most Popular Car in New York

#44

State with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank

#48

State with the Moving Violations Rank

#35

State with the Most DUIs Rank

#40

State with the most Suspended Licenses

• Accidents in New York

  While car accidents are a sadly unavoidable feature of time spent on the road, rates of accidents do vary from city to city and from state to state. New York is the #47 state in the country for drivers with an at-fault accident on their driving record.

  • Rank among states: #47
  • Percent of drivers in New York with an accident: 6.2%
• DUIs in New York

  While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. New York is the #35 state in the country for drivers with a prior drunk driving conviction.

  • Rank among states: #35
  • Percent of drivers in New York with a DUI: 1%
• Reckless Driving in New York

  Reckless driving refers to a specific traffic violation: when drivers willfully act dangerously in spite of the risks they’re imposing on both themselves and others. New York is the #33 state in the country for drivers with a reckless driving offense on record.

  • Rank among states: #33
  • Percent of drivers in New York with a reckless driving offense: 1.1%
• Rude Driving in New York

  The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit one or more of the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-run. New York is the #34 state in the country for drivers with a rude driving violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #34
  • Percent of drivers in New York with a rude driving violation: 1.3%
• Speeding in New York

  Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and have a serious impact on your insurance costs. New York is the #44 state in the country for drivers with a speeding ticket on record.

  • Rank among states: #44
  • Percent of drivers in New York with a speeding ticket: 6.4%
• Failure to Yield Rates in New York

  Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. New York is the #49 state in the country for drivers with a failure to yield violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #49
  • Percent of drivers in New York with a failure to yield violation: 0%

Insurify Insights

Insurify's team of data scientists and content specialists presents Insurify Insights, a series of automotive, home, and health studies focusing on the topics that impact us all. through expert analysis of over 4 million car insurance applications and an array of top data sources, the Insurify Insights team produces new data-driven articles, trend analyses, regional superlatives, and national rankings every week. See Insurify Insights as featured in Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, NPR, and more.