Best New York Car Insurance (2024)

New York is one of the most densely populated states in the U.S., with people flocking to live in New York City. The state is also home to central attractions of America — the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, Times Square, Broadway, and more.

With so many people living in New York, there are millions of drivers on New York’s roads.

If you are one of these drivers, you need New York car insurance, but it can be hard to pick an insurer that meets your needs, and you probably have better things to do with your time than spending hours researching car insurance laws and providers in New York.

It’s important to learn about car insurance requirements and policy limits if you don’t want to be pushed into getting a car insurance policy that’s not right for you.

Well, look no further than our comprehensive guide.

We have put together a guide to everything you need to know about purchasing car insurance in New York. Keep reading to learn about everything from coverage rates to traffic congestion.

New York Auto Insurance Coverage and Rates

In a world of impulse buys, we want to keep as much money in our pockets. Shopping around for rates can help bring your expenses down, but it can be time-consuming to find the right provider. If you don’t, though, you could be stuck with poor car insurance coverages and high rates.

Luckily, we’ve done the hard work for you by partnering with Quadrant to analyze New York’s rate changes. Quadrant’s data is based on the prices of actual purchased coverages in New York.

These prices include high-risk drivers, drivers who purchase more than the state minimum, and drivers who purchase additional coverage, which gives us an accurate and complete picture of rates in New York.

So stick with us as we go through everything from the minimum coverages you need in New York to the different companies’ rate changes. Let’s begin.

New York Minimum Coverage

Whether you have a sports car or a van, you’ll need vehicle insurance. Every state has different coverage requirements, though, which can make things confusing when you move to a new state.

If you don’t update your insurance to fulfill state laws, you’ll face multiple penalties (such as losing your license). To see what New York requires, we’ve taken a look at the Insurance Information Institute’s information on state coverage requirements.

In New York, you’ll need to have the following minimum coverage amounts:

• $25,000 for injuries to one person from an accident
• $50,000 for injuries to more than one person from an accident
• $10,000 for property damage from an accident
• $100,000 for wrongful death coverage

These are the minimum coverage amounts — you can certainly purchase more. In fact, purchasing more than the state minimum is a smart move, as you’ll be better protected in an accident.

New York also requires all drivers to have the following coverage types (these coverages apply to amounts shown above):

• Bodily Injury Liability Insurance
• Property Damage Liability Insurance
• Personal Injury Protection
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage
• Underinsured Motorist Coverage

To prove you have these coverages in the minimum amount, you’ll need to have proof of insurance on you at all times.

Forms of Financial Responsibility

A form of financial responsibility is simply proof of insurance. In New York, the following forms of financial responsibility are acceptable.

• New York State Insurance ID Card
• Electronic New York State Insurance ID Card

New York allows drivers to provide electronic proof of insurance. If you have your insurer’s app, you can download an electronic ID card and show it as proof of insurance.

It’s still wise to still have a paper copy in case of technical difficulties, but an electronic version means you don’t have to rifle through your glove compartment.

Since you have to provide proof of insurance when registering vehicles, at traffic stops, and after accidents, make sure you have your form of financial responsibility ready to go before driving.

Premiums as a Percentage of Income

Car insurance is an expensive budget item, eating up a major percentage of income each year. Every state has different premium and income averages, which can make car insurance prices vary drastically.

Below, you can see what percentage of income the average New York resident spends on car insurance each year.

In 2014, the percentage of income going to car insurance was 2.8 percent. While this is a drop from 2013, the percentage of income going to car insurance was 2.77 percent in 2012.

This is only a slight increase, but it’s still a difference of about a few hundred dollars. New York’s percentage of income going to car insurance is slightly higher than the countrywide average, as well.

In 2014, the countrywide percentage of income going to car insurance was 2.40 percent, which is 0.4 percent less than New York’s percentage.

Remember, even a slight difference means money saved. Still, New York’s percentage isn’t the highest in the U.S.

Monthly Average Cost of Car Insurance Rates in NY (Liability, Collision, Comprehensive)

We’ve covered the minimums that you need on your vehicle, so let’s take a look at how much cove coverages will cost you. The average costs below are from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) data on state minimums.

The minimum amount that car insurance costs in New York is around $1,300. This means the minimum amount you’ll pay each month is roughly $108.

Additional Liability

Since you’re already paying for core coverage, you may wonder why you should buy additional coverages. However, New York requires drivers to have little additional coverage such as Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

These coverages are important, as PIP will help pay your medical bills if you are injured in a crash. Uninsured and underinsured coverages will help pay bills if the driver who caused the accident has little or no insurance.

6.1 percent of New York drivers are uninsured, ranking the city as 50th for uninsured drivers in the U.S.

While New York has a low percentage of uninsured drivers compared to other states, the last thing you want is to have to pay for an accident you didn’t cause.

So let’s take a look at how additional liability insurance functions in New York by looking at loss ratios. Why the loss ratios?

A low loss ratio means a company isn’t paying out claims, while a high loss ratio (over 100 percent) means a company risks going bankrupt.

Below you can see New York’s additional liability coverages’ loss ratios.

All the loss ratios for additional coverages in New York are below 100 percent and above 50 percent, which is great. These loss ratios mean you have a good chance of your claim being paid.

As a reminder, New York doesn’t require you to have Medpay, but it’s still a great coverage to add — Medpay will cover both your medical bills and your passengers’ after an accident.

Add-Ons, Endorsements, & Riders

Now that we’ve covered core coverages, let’s take a look at add-on coverages. These coverages are great for when you want added protection that’s personalized to your needs.

• Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP)
• Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP)
• Rental Reimbursement
• Emergency Roadside Assistance
• Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
• Non-Owner Car Insurance
• Modified Car Insurance Coverage
• Classic Car Insurance
• Usage-Based Car Insurance

Some add-ons will save you money, such as classic car insurance. Since owners of classic cars drive them less than regular vehicles, classic car insurance is cheaper.

Add-ons are also useful for building custom plans. For example, if you want roadside assistance from your insurer (rather than through a third party like AAA), then adding a roadside assistance add-on to your plan is the perfect option.

Average Monthly Car Insurance Rates by Age & Gender in NY

How much is car insurance in NY monthly? Because cost is a concern when picking out car insurance, we want to start tackling the subject of rates in New York. Currently, New York is not one of the states who have banned insurers from basing rates on gender.

It may surprise you to learn that gender is even a rate factor.

But many insurers create gender and age profiles based on accident data, typically charging males more for car insurance. Consequently, young males have the highest rates.

So let’s take a look at gender and age rates in New York.

If you are nearing your 35th or 60th birthday, you’ll shortly have the cheapest rates in New York. Although the average cost of car insurance by age and provider has different rates, generally, the older you are, the less you’ll pay for car insurance.

This is why most parents with teen drivers take time to shop around for car insurance, as teens have significantly higher rates.

Cheapest Rates by Zip Code

Another factor impacting rates is where you live in New York. Area rates can change based on several factors, such as crime, natural disasters, or high crash numbers.

Consequently, moving around a state can result in your car insurance rates increasing significantly. Below are New York’s rates by zip code, with each company’s rates for the area.