Compare car insurance rates side by side

If you’re looking for the cheapest car insurance in New York, you’ll find a wide range of rates for the same policy. To make your shopping easier, NerdWallet researched premiums from the six largest auto insurers in New York to find the cheapest options in the state for a variety of drivers.

Below you’ll find the lowest rates for:

Also in this article:

Cheapest for good drivers

For drivers with no at-fault accidents, DUIs or moving violations; range of average prices: em, 413 to , 941 per year.

The average for good drivers among the three cheapest options was $1, 700 per year. Progressive offered the best car insurance rate for good drivers in New York in our analysis, coming in more than $100 a year less than the next-cheapest company.

If you have a clean driving record, you’re in an enviable position because you qualify for some of the best rates. If you also have good credit, even better. You can push your rates even lower by making sure you get the discounts you’re entitled to, such as a claim-free discount for going without incident during your previous policy term.

Cheapest for young drivers

For drivers in their early 20s; range of average prices: $722 to $2, 993 per year.

Geico offered the cheapest car insurance in our test, costing about $300 less per year than its closest competitor. If you’re under 25, still in school and have a B average or better, ask your agent about a good student discount. If you’re living at home, it might be cheaper to stay on your parents’ policy, rather than buying your own.

Cheapest for families with one teen driver

For middle-aged couples with one teen driver; range of average prices: $1, 873 to $11, 716 per year.

No doubt about it, the teen years are filled with angst — mostly for the parents, when their rates skyrocket because of their teen driver. Depending on your insurer, you might have a hard time finding savings apart from the good student discount.

One insurer’s rate topped $11, 000 a year in our study, so parents of teens should plan to shop around. Buying a vehicle that’s cheap to insure will help keep your rates down, no matter how much you drive. The Honda Accord and CR-V and the Toyota Camry have the cheapest insurance premiums among popular cars, according to NerdWallet’s analysis of quotes for best-selling cars.

Cheapest for drivers with poor credit

For drivers placed in the lowest credit tier as determined by the industry; range of average prices: em, 413 to , 941 per year.

While New York law prohibits insurers from using credit as the sole basis for denying insurance, or for using it to raise rates at renewal time, bad credit can prevent you from getting the cheapest car insurance in New York when you initially buy your policy. The insurance industry says that credit-based insurance scores can predict how likely it is that a customer will file future claims.

Our research found the two cheapest quotes for this category were the same as the two cheapest for good drivers with no credit issues. However, the third cheapest estimate, from Travelers, was about $400 a year more than the third lowest quote for our good driver group.

Cheapest for retired drivers

For drivers in their mid- to late 60s who no longer use their car for commuting; range of average prices: $1, 145 to $4, 733 per year.

Even though auto insurance rates can start creeping up around the time drivers reach age 65, retired drivers in New York can benefit from lower mileage and still get relatively low rates. What’s more, retirees in New York can save 10% on their premium for three years by taking an online accident prevention course. Learn more about the state’s many approved course providers.

Minimum car insurance requirements in New York

New Yorkers are required to carry liability insurance, personal injury protection (PIP) and uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UMBI).

The minimum coverage limits are:

• $25, 000 bodily injury liability per person
• $50, 000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $10, 000 property damage liability per accident
• $50, 000 liability for death per person
• $100, 000 liability for death per accident
• $50, 000 PIP
• $25, 000 UMBI per person
• $50, 000 UMBI per accident

For the utmost financial protection, you may want to consider buying more than the bare minimum. A serious accident could easily leave you owning more than, say, $10, 000 to repair another driver’s car. And any costs that surpass your coverage limits would have to come out of your own pocket.

Alternative car insurance in New York

If DUIs, poor credit or other factors are keeping you from getting auto coverage on the voluntary market, you could qualify for car insurance through the New York Automobile Insurance Plan (NYAIP).

And in case you missed anything, here’s a summary of where you’ll find the cheapest insurance, by category:

METHODOLOGY

For most categories, NerdWallet averaged rates from the largest insurers for 30-year-old men and women in 10 ZIP codes and with 100/300/50 liability insurance limits and 100/300 uninsured motorist coverage. We used a 2015 Honda Accord in all cases.

To test rates for families with teen drivers, we used a 46-year-old female and 47-year-old male with a 16-year-old son. Our sample retired driver was 67 and drove 50% fewer annual miles than other groups. Our sample young driver was 22 and carried the minimum required coverage levels. The range described includes quotes retrieved by NerdWallet from the six largest insurers in the state. Your own rates will be different.