Buy Cheap New York, NY Auto Insurance in 2024

Whether you live in Manhattan, The Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, or Staten Island, you make up the population to the largest city in the United States.

The possibilities in New York City are endless. The never-ending hustle and bustle of the city make it the city that never sleeps.

When you think of New York City, subways and taxi cabs are your first thought of transportation. If you own a car, you will need insurance on your vehicle.

This is where we come in to help. Driving and parking are hard enough if you work or live in the city, we do not want insurance to be tough too.

We are going to cover all the basics of car insurance in the Big Apple and also hit a few non-insurance topics like what to do for fun and how the weather is when in New York City.

Ready to take the plunge and get some quotes? Enter your zip code and use our free online quoting tool.

The Cost of Car Insurance in New York City

New York City is an expensive place so you don’t want to add any necessary expenses.

We are going to break down how insurance companies get your rate and what factors affect how high your premium will be.

If you guessed that speeding ticket is going to raise your rates, you guessed right. Keep reading to see what else might raise, or lower, your rate.

Male vs. Female vs Age

Age and gender can make an impact on your auto premiums. So, let’s take a closer look at the demographics of New York City.

According to DataUSA, the median age of New York City residents is 36.6 years old.

Age plays a huge role in how much you are will be paying for insurance. Check out the rates below.

A seventeen-year-old can pay almost $10,000 more than a 60-year-old annually for car insurance. That is quite a difference in premium.

Teens are inexperienced drivers. They do not have the hours behind the wheel that a mature driver has; therefore, they are going to pay a premium for coverage.

Gender does not affect rates as much as age. Some states, like California and Massachusetts, ban rating based on gender. New York has not followed suit and still uses gender as a rating factor.

In New York City, a married 60-year-old female pays a lower rate than any other age or gender.

Cheapest ZIP Codes in New York City

Insurance companies look at where the car is garaged or kept. If you live in a high-crime area, you will be more than someone living in a quiet, rural area.

Take a look at the table below. See where your zip code lands on the list.

What’s the Best Car Insurance Company in New York City?

When looking for car insurance, you want to find the best company for your needs.

How far your commute, credit history, and driving records are all factors you need to take into consideration when looking for a company.

Some companies rate heavier for a speeding ticket and less for credit history. So if you have a clean record, but maybe lower credit, you will want to check out rates with that company.

If you had to do that with every company, that would take up a lot of time. So, we have done the leg work for you.

We compiled rates from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and looked at each factor and how the companies rate compared with others.

Cheapest Car Insurance Rates by Company

As we discussed earlier, demographics play a huge role in ratings. Below is a chart of the average rates in each demographic category.

Once again, age makes a huge difference. So what should a young teen driver do when looking for insurance?

First, keep a clean driving record. Rates will only go up higher when adding unwanted violations on your record.

Secondly, check out rates from Geico or Nationwide that tend to be lower for teen drivers. Shop your insurance to get the best rates.

 

Best Car Insurance for Commute Rates

The above rates are averages, but what if you are not average? We are going to start to dig into some factors that can raise your costs.

First up, we are going to look at commuting.

The Federal Highway Administration finds New York residents drive an average of 11,421 miles annually.

NYC residents have an average commute of 40 minutes, which is higher than the national average of 25.5 minutes.

With that being said, almost 8 percent have super commutes. Super commutes are residents that spend more than 90 minutes commuting.

Most living in the city tend to use public transportation, but if you chose to drive and have a longer commute check out companies like Nationwide and Travelers.

These companies tend to not increase rates with the mileage increase.

Best Car Insurance for Coverage Level Rates

New York requires insurance coverage. When you register your vehicle, you must show at least the minimum required coverage listed below:

• $10,000 for property damage per accident
• $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for one person
• $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for death for two or more persons

This is the minimum amount required. You can choose to purchase more coverage and most drivers do opt for more coverage.

More coverage will mean a higher premium. In the event of an accident, you will want more coverage so it is good to look at your options.

We looked at the same companies as before and compared rates for low, medium, and high coverage.

In some cases, high coverage costs $1,000 less than low coverage. It is always a good idea to at least get the quote for higher coverage to see what you can afford.

Best Car Insurance for Credit History Rates

Credit history is used as an indicator of the likelihood of someone filing a claim. While some states have moved away from using credit history, New York allows insurance carriers to still use this as a factory for rating.

Credit plays a huge party in buying a house or car, but it also can get you a better rate on your car insurance.

Good credit rating can get you a $9,000 less premium with Liberty Mutual.

Best Car Insurance for Driving Record Rates

One of the most well-known factors of rating is your driving record. The safer driver you are with less on your record will score you the better premium.

And if you are wondering what costs more, speeding or an accident, don’t worry we have that answer for you.

The speeding violation will usually cost you a little less than an accident. If you do have an accident on your record take a look at a company like Allstate or State Farm that has a lower rate for accidents.

Driving under the influence conviction will hit your the hardest in regards to costly premiums. If you are with Liberty Mutual, your premium can go up almost $11,000 for a DUI.

Driving under the influence is very dangerous and can take your life or someone else’s life if you chose to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking.

Car Insurance Factors in New York City 

Driving records, coverage rates, and credit all impact your rate, but did you know zip code, income, and economic growth and prosperity also play a factor?

We touched on zip codes earlier. If you live in a populated, urban area chances are your insurance will be more than a more rural area even if you are just a mile apart.

Income and homeownership can also affect insurance rates. Homeowners are looked at to be more prone to timely payments and less likely to file a claim.

Let’s take a look at the growth of New York City and other factors like education, poverty level, and wages.

Metro Report – Growth & Prosperity

Rising numbers on jobs and wages show signs of economic growth and prosperity.

We looked to Brookings Metro Report to see how New York City is growing with jobs, the standard of living, and annual wages.

Growth (36th)

• Jobs: +1.6 percent (38th of 100)
• Gross metropolitan product (GMP): +3.4 percent (21sr of 100)
• Jobs at young firms: +3.3 percent (51st of 100)

Prosperity (11th)

• Productivity: +1.7 percent (20th of 100)
• Standard of living: +3.2 percent (7th of 100)
• Average annual wage: +1.7 percent (16th of 100)

In 1790, the first United States census was performed and New York City received the title of the largest city in the US.

Since that day, NYC has held that title. As of 2016, New York City had an estimated population of 8.55 million people.

But not all demographic groups are growing in New York City. Our study of African American mobility by metro, for instance, found that NYC’s Black population is declining as the city becomes more expensive and other quality of life factors decrease in the Big Apple.

Median Household Income

According to DataUSA, New York City has 3.16 million households and has a median annual income of $60,879.

The average car insurance premium for a resident of New York City is $7,489 annually. With the median income of $60,879, 12.3 percent of the disposable income of NYC residents goes towards their auto premiums.

Want to see how much of your income ins going towards your insurance? Use our free calculator to find out.

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Homeownership in New York City

Shows like Million Dollar Listing, shown on Bravo Network, are filmed in New York City because property values are through the roof.

In 2017, the median property value in New York, NY grew to to $609,500 from the previous year’s value of $569,700.

Higher value homes mean higher insurance rates to cover rebuilding costs in the event of a total loss. But how many New York City residents own their home versus renting them?

New York City has a percentage of 32.7 of owner-occupied properties. This is a much lower percentage than the national average of 63.9 percent.

Education in New York City

If you moved to New York City for education, you have maybe going to the below universities which hand out the most degrees a year.

• New York University – 16,758 degrees awarded
• Columbia University in the City of New York – 12,707 degrees awarded
• CUNY Hunter College – 5,465 degrees awarded

Here are the top three degree awarded concentrations in NYC schools:

• General Psychology – 4,414 degrees
• General Business Administration & Management – 2,680 degrees
• Accounting – 2,637 degrees

Wage by Race & Ethnicity in Common Jobs

Here is a data from DataUSA sowing the top five most common jobs and how ethnic groups are paid.

Wage by Gender in Common Jobs

Across the nation, there is a wage gap between men and women. Men continue to make higher wages across the board.

Poverty by Age and Gender

n 2017, full-time male employees in New York made 1.29 times more than female employees.

Poverty by Race & Ethnicity

Hispanics are the largest ethnic group living in poverty in New York City.

Employment by Occupations

New York City has 4.19 million employees in the workforce.

Here are the top three professions in New York City:

• Office & Administrative Support Occupations (503,560 people)
• Management Occupations (426,654 people)
• Sales & Related Occupations (389,845 people)

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Driving in New York

Subways and taxis are usually the sources of transportation in the Big Apple. New York City, the most populated city in the United States, is known for its high levels of traffic and aggressive drivers. (For more information, read our “Buy Cheap Taxi Cab Auto Insurance“)

So let’s take a look at roads, traffic, and popular destinations in the area of New York City.

Roads in New York City

Major landmarks fill the streets of New York City. Empire State Building, Times Square, and Central Park are just a few of the places to visit when in NYC.

Most of these popular landmarks are best visited on foot or by train due to extreme congestion on New York City roads.

The average speed through the business district for buses is 7.58 minutes an hour. Yes, buses move less than eight miles in one hour.

Major Highways

The state of New York has 31 active routes totaling 1,730.34 miles.

Here is a list of major roads and expressways:

If you travel in and out of the boroughs in your own vehicle, here is a list of toll roads and prices.

Popular Road Trips/Sites

With a city filled with traffic, popular landmarks, and celebrity sightings, you may want to get out of the city for a day or two.

• Harriman State Park, New York
• Montauk, New York
• Catskills, New York
• Mohonk Mountain House, New York
• North Fork, New York
• Finger Lakes, New York
• Hunter, New York

These are a few popular tourist destinations if you live in New York City. Within a few hours, you can be enjoying a mountain get-a-way, a romantic lake day, or a family weekend at the beach.

Road Conditions

A National Transportation Research Nonprofit group, TRIP, estimates 46 percent of roads in New York are in poor condition.

Due to the poor road conditions, the Average New York spends $719 a year to operate their vehicle.

Does Your City Use Speeding or Red Light Cameras?

The state of New York allows speed and red-light cameras to be used in the state.

The city of New York currently has more than 2,000 cameras to enforce red-light running.

New York City has discontinued the use of speed cameras.

Vehicles in New York City

Besides a sea of yellow cabs, let’s look at what other types of cars you may see driving down the busy streets of Manhatten or one of the other four boroughs.

Vehicles Most Popular Vehicles Owned

According to Your Mechanic, the most popular car in New York City is the BMW 328i.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMFTJ0DEznI

How Many Cars per Household

The DataUSA chart shows 45.4 percent of New York City residents do not own a car. Although residents, 33.4 percent, do own one car.

As you can see, most American households own two cars.

With the high use of public transportation, those numbers are not surprising.

Speed traps in Your City

New York City is a highly populated area with a high number of pedestrians, bicyclists, and tourists looking up and not paying attention.

Several boroughs make the top ten list of speed traps in New York.

Speed Traps in New York City

Vehicle Theft in City

The Federal Burea of Investigation reports in 2017 there were 5,735 motor vehicle thefts in New York City.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g047-3t_xwM

So, how safe are the streets in New York City? According to Neighborhoodscout.com, New York City is 30 percent safer than other cities in the United States.

We looked at violent crimes and compared NYC rates to the national average. While robbery and assault were higher than the national average, rape and murder were lower.

Your chance of being a victim of a violent crime is 1 in 210 in NYC which is slightly higher than the rate of 1 in 280 in all of New York state.

https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/ny/new-york/crime

Here is a list of the top ten safest neighborhoods in New York City:

• W 218th St / Broadway
• Randalls Island Park / Wards Island Park
• E 82nd St / 2nd Ave
• Madison Ave / E 50th St
• Madison Ave / E 96th St
• Main St / East Rd
• E 53rd St / 2nd Ave
• E 89th St / 1st Ave
• W 70th St / West End Ave
• Madison Ave / E 90th St

Traffic

No one likes to be on their way to work and be stuck in traffic. And, to be honest, no one wants to be sitting in traffic whether on their way to work or anywhere.

Let’s take a look at just how congested the roads are in New York City.

Traffic Congestion in New York City

New Yorkers living in the city are not new to the stressors of dealing with traffic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM_nQXcnuyw

INRIX, a traffic specialist application, rate New York City as the 40th most congested city in the world. NYC ranks 4th in the United States.

Traffic congestion costs drivers $1,859 a year.

Transportation

It is not surprising with the traffic congestion that New York City workers commute 40 minutes on average. Almost eight percent have super commutes, which means they travel in excess of 90 minutes.

Since we discussed earlier that most households do not own a car, the majority of residents in the workforce in New York City use public transportation.

1. Public Transit: 55.8 percent
2. Drove Alone: 22.3 percent
3. Walked: 10.1 percent (in fact, we ranked New York the most walkable city in the United States)

Busiest Highways

New York has some of the busiest roads in America. Below is a list of the busiest roads from the Federal Highway Association.

How Safe are New York City Streets and Roads?

We scoured the data of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to bring you data on the fatalities that have occurred on the New York City streets.

Thankfully, fatalities numbers are decreasing over the last five years in New York City. The highest number of fatalities involve a single car.

Below are the top 10 counties for fatalities in New York.

Three counties in the New York metro area make the top 10 list.

Local roads in the city have more fatalities than interstates or expressways.

The U.S. Department of Transportation shows a lower number of fatalities involving railways.

Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report

Allstate produces an annual report of the best drivers in 200 of the largest cities in the United States. This report looks at the years between claims filed and hard-braking for every 1,000 miles.

Out of 200 cities, New York City ranks 111th for the safest drivers.

The national average of years between claims is 10.57 years. New York City drivers average 8.8 years between claims.

The national average for hard-braking is 19 events every 1,000 miles. It is no surprise in the traffic of NYC, drivers average 31.9 hard-braking events fro every 1,000 miles.

Note: several cities may be grouped together in a metro area, so find your larger metro area

Ridesharing

Ridesharing is a popular service used by many Americans. With a large number of residents using public transportation to get around the city, it is no surprise there are many different ridesharing companies available.

Here is a list of companies available in NYC:

• Arro
• Blacklane
• Carmel
• Curb
• Flywheel
• Kid car
• Limos.com
• Lyft
• SuperShuttle
• Taxi
• Uber
• Via

EStar Repair Shops

If you have been a car accident, your next question is where to get your car fixed. All drivers want their car to be fixed by a reputable company that will not over-charge.

EStar is a list of reputable repair shops in your area.

You can search your zip code here to find the closest repair shop.

Weather

New York City typically has very hot summers and colder, snowy winters.

Here is a brief look at what type of weather to expect in New York City.

WEATHER FACTS	DETAILS
Annual High Temperature	62.3°F
Annual Low Temperature	48°F
Average Temperature	55.15°F
Average Annual Rainfall	46.23 inches
Days per year with rainfall	121 days

New York County has a slightly higher frequency of natural disasters at 17 compared to the national average of 13. Causes for natural disasters in New York are below:

• Hurricanes
• Floods
• Storms
• Blizzards
• Explosion
• Heavy Rain
• Power Outage
• Snowstorm
• Water Shortage

Public Transit

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority runs all subway, railways, and buses in New York City.

Riders can choose to buy a single pay-per-ride fee or unlimited monthly ride.

• Base Pay-Per-Ride fare: $2.75
• Single ride fare: $3.00*
• 30-Day Unlimited Ride: $127.00
• 7-Day Unlimited Ride: $33.00
• Express Bus: $6.75
• Express Bus Plus 7-Day: $62.00

MTA also offers reduced fare rates for riders over the age of 65 or disabled riders.

• Subway, Local Bus, Select Bus: $1.35
• 30-Day Unlimited Ride: $63.50
• 7-Day Unlimited Ride: $16.50
• Express Bus (off-peak only): $3.35

Alternate Transportation

While renting scooters and bikes are becoming popular in other metro areas, New York City has made it illegal to use either. If you are found using them on the streets of NYC, you can face a $500 fine.

Parking in Metro Areas

As one can imagine, parking in New York City is no easy task. Websites, like Spot Hero, help drivers find parking garages and reserve a space at a designated time.

Other parking apps that are helpful in New York City are:

• Pango
• ParkMe
• BestParking

Air Quality in Cities

We look to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, for air quality in cities across the United States.

Auto emissions are responsible for polluting the air with particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds. This contributes to poor air quality which is unhealthy for Americans to breathe.

Below is a table showing air quality days for New York City from the EPA air quality report.

Military/Veterans

Military personnel and veterans can qualify for discounts due to their profession or even due to parking their car on a military base.

According to DataUSA, most veterans living in New York City have fought in the Vietnam War.

There are two major military bases located under 60 miles from New York City.

• West Point located about 50 miles outside of New York City.
• Fort Hamilton located in Brooklyn, New York.

Various insurance companies offer military discounts for eligible drivers. Below is a list of companies offering discounts:

• Allstate
• Esurance
• Farmers Insurance
• Geico
• Liberty Mutual
• Metlife
• StateFarm
• The General
• USAA

Unique City Laws 

Each city has its own unique laws. Some cities have different hands-free laws or parking laws.

We are going to look at a few of New York City’s unique laws you may not know.

Hands-Free Laws

Distracted driving is a huge epidemic in the United States. Drivers look away whether it be at a phone or to change the radio.

Some states have banned the use of any hand-held device.

New York is a state that not only has banned the hand-held usage of mobile devices but using your phone will also get you two points on your license and a $150 fine.

Food Trucks

The streets of New York City are filled with food vendors and some of the best street meats around.

In order to operate any type of food truck in NYC, you must have the proper permits and licenses. There are six types of permits NYC issues for mobile food units. You can find regulations and rules for mobile food vendors here.

Tiny Homes

When you think of New York City, tiny homes are not usually what you think of when looking at housing.

At this time, New York City does not permit the use of tiny homes for permanent living.

Parking Laws

All of New York City is a tow-away zone under state vehicle and traffic laws. This means at any time you are parked illegally or you have no tags or expired registration, the city can legally tow your vehicle.

All parking laws and regulations can be found on the New York City Department of Transportation website.

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New York City Car Insurance FAQs

Have any last questions regarding New York car insurance? Here are some commonly asked questions.

How much insurance is required to drive in New York?

The minimum required amount of insurance in New York is:

• $10,000 for property damage per accident
• $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for one person
• $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for death for two or more persons

This is just the required minimum. We suggest looking at higher coverages, especially depending on your circumstances, like what type of car your own and personal assets.

What happens if I drive without insurance?

Driving without insurance is very dangerous and can bring severe consequences.

You could have a fine of $1500 imposed and lose your license and registration for a year if you are involved in an accident while not having insurance.

You will also have to pay a $750 fee to DMV to reinstate your license.

How can I get a lower rate?

A clean record and safe driving habits will always help you get the lowest rates.

We also recommend shopping for your insurance. Most insurance companies offer free quotes that can give you an idea if you should switch companies for a lower rate.

How much is parking in New York City?

Not cheap. Parking can vary from place to place and also the time of the day. We found some spots starting as low as $15 and some up to $70 for a valet garage.

Using a site like SpotHero can help you find and reserve parking.

You made it. We covered a lot of information regarding New York City car insurance. We hope you feel confident and well on your way to buying car insurance.

You can start getting quotes now by entering your zip code to use our free online quoting tool.

 

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