New York Car Insurance
(Quotes, Cost & Coverage)
Get New York car insurance quotes, cost & coverage fast. Find affordable NY auto insurance including liability, property damage, comprehensive, collision, medical, PIP, uninsured, underinsured, rental car, roadside assistance and more.
NY Car Insurance
If you are like any of the thousands of drivers on the road every day, then it is likely that you or someone in your household has obtained New York car insurance to both satisfy the legal liability requirements of the New York, as well as to protect your vehicle, the occupants, and other peoples autos and property.
While getting a NY auto insurance quote is a fairly easy process, especially with the convenience of online shopping, many people still do not understand exactly what types of car insurance are available and how the types differ. Here we'll discuss the main car insurance policy types and optional coverages and also go over examples of what the coverage options insure. This way, the next time you request a New York car insurance quote, you will be better equipped to make an informed decision.
What Does New York Car Insurance Cover?
Auto insurance covers three types of liabilities, or losses. They are:
- Property - damage to or theft of vehicles.
- Liability - the policyholders liability, or legal obligation for the property or bodily injury of others when the driver is at fault.
- Injury - the medical treatment, long term care, loss of wages, or even funeral expenses of anyone who is injured in an accident.
New York requires that drivers have liability insurance. New York car insurance policies generally are renewed on a biannual or annual basis.
New York car insurance has many coverages - so it's important to research the options, see what NY requires and what coverages are optional, and how each can protect you in the vent of an accident or other loss. NY auto insurance policies contains at least one or more of the following specific types of coverage and each option is priced separately (this is not an exhaustive list):
Bodily Injury Liability: This type of car insurance coverage protects the policy holder as well as any other drivers listed on the policy by covering medical costs for injuries caused to other motorists. Oftentimes, people will increase the minimum coverage to protect their other assets in the event that an injured motorist sues for additional damages because your automobile insurance will pay up to the limits on the policy - you are out of pocket for expenses that exceed those limits.
Medical Payments or Personal Injury Protection: Should injury to the policy holder or any other occupants of the insured vehicle occur in an accident, this portion of the auto insurance policy will cover the medical bills, lost wages and funeral costs. This option is also known as PIP (Personal Injury Protection).
Property Damage Liability: Property damage liability is the most common type of coverage option and one which is required by law. It covers damage caused by the policy holder (or anyone permitted to drive the insured vehicle) to another vehicle or other type of property such as signs, fences, telephone poles, buildings, etc.
Collision: This type of coverage offers protection for the policy holders vehicle if damage occurs as a result of an collision with another vehicle, object, or even if your vehicle ends up flipping over. Damages caused by potholes are also covered under collision coverage. Even if the policy holder is at fault, collision insurance will cover the repair for damages minus the deductible amount. If the policyholder is not at fault, the insurance company will attempt to recover the costs paid to its policyholder through the other motorists insurance company and if successful, will also reimburse its policyholders' paid deductible amount too.
Comprehensive: Comprehensive insurance covers the cost of theft of the vehicle or damages/repairs caused by anything other than another vehicle or object. Damages such as those caused by fires, natural disasters, bombs, vandalism, or collisions with animals such as deer. This option also covers shattered or cracked windshields. Both collision and comprehensive coverage are usually optional however if a car is leased, many times the lender will require this type of coverage in addition to liability.
Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage: If an accident occurs with an uninsured driver or if the other driver does not have sufficient coverage to pay for the full extent of damages, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage will cover the outstanding expenses. This option also protects the policyholder if involved in a hit and run accident or if hit while a pedestrian.
Gap Insurance: This protects you if your car is totaled and you owe more on the loan or lease than the insurance company pays out. It is usually taken on cars that are 3 years old or less.
Rental Reimbursement: This coverage pays for a rental car if your auto is in the repair shop following a covered comprehensive or collision claim.
Roadside Assistance (Towing & Labor): Much like AAA, this coverage offers a jump start, gas delivery, a flat tire change, even the services of a qualified locksmith of you break down.
What New York Car Insurance Doesn't Cover
Also know as exclusions, which remove risk from the insurer, car insurance typically does not cover:
- Personal belongings inside your auto. Do if someone breaks into your car and steals your laptop - the window would be covered but the computer would not.
- People who live in the same home as you but are not listed on the policy. A basic car insurance policy generally covers you and other people who don't live with you and who have permission to occasionally use your vehicles. Members of your household must be listed on your policy to have coverage.
- The balance of your car loan is your vehicle is totaled. See gap insurance above.
What Are New York's Financial Responsibility Requirements?
According to the NY Department Of Motor Vehicles:
To register a vehicle in New York State you must have New York State issued automobile liability insurance coverage. If you do not maintain the coverage, the DMV can suspend your vehicle registration and your driver license. New York law requires that you have auto liability insurance coverage. The minimum amount of liability coverage is:
- $10,000 for property damage for a single accident
- $25,000 for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for a person involved in an accident
- $50,000 for bodily injury and $100,000 for death for two or more people in an accident
The New York State Department of Financial Services website has more information about liability insurance and insurance companies licensed in New York: http://www.dfs.ny.gov
How Much Does New York Car Insurance Cost?
How much does New York car insurance cost? The average price of auto insurance varied widely based on certain factors. The premiums vary depending on the company and their underwriting rules, and it depends on the coverages and deductible selected. Following are some of the main factors that go into the price of a policy:
- Geographical location - The more dangerous your NY location is the higher premiums you will pay as there is a higher probability for claims. If you live in a highly populated urban area (like Houston or Dallas), accidents and insurance claims happen more often and rate are higher.
- Age - Typically drivers under 25 pay more because statistically shown to be inexperienced behind the wheel, easily distracted and to crash more often. They are on of the riskiest category of drivers to insure.
- Gender - Data shows males are more likely to crash, hence men's premiums are higher.
- Marital status - Married people have been found to be less of a risk to insurers than singles, including divorced or widowed drivers.
- Years of driving experience - Inexperienced drivers pose more risk. That is why under 25 have some of the highest rates.
- Driving record - Drivers with a clean driving record qualify for better rates and can be eligible for a safe driver discount.
- Claims history - More claims = more premium. Insurers actually count frequency (how many claims in a time frame) more than severity (how large the claim was).
- Credit history - The better credit you have, the lower your rates. Most insurers look at credit and weight it heavily.
- Previous insurance coverage - Continual auto insurance history (or at least for the last 6 months) can help get you a better rate.
- Vehicle type - Purchase price, theft rate, cost of repairs, accident rate and safety tests weigh heavily in car insurance cost.
- Vehicle use - A vehicle used to commute work poses more of a risk than the car you only take out of the garage on the weekends.
- Miles driven annually - The less you drive, the less risk you have of being in an accident.
- Coverages - The more coverage you choose with higher limits, the more it will cost you since the insurer is taking on additional risk.
- Deductibles - The deductible is your out of pocket cost before your policy kick in. Lower deductible = higher premium, and higher deductible = lower premium.
And New York car insurance premiums after a DUI/DWI will always cost more.
NY Auto Insurance Quotes
Request a New York Car Insurance quote in Albany, Amherst, Auburn, Babylon, Binghamton, Bronx, Brookhaven, Brooklyn, Buffalo, Clarkstown, Clay, Colonie, Elmira, Glen Cove, Greenburgh, Hamburg, Hempstead, Huntington, Islip, Ithaca, Jamaica, Jamestown, Long Beach, Manhattan, Middletown, Mount Vernon, New Rochelle, Newburgh, Niagara Falls, Orangetown, Oyster Bay, Perinton, Poughkeepsie, Queens, Rochester, Rome, Rye, Schenectady, Smithtown, Southampton, Staten Island, Syracuse, Tonawanda, Troy, Union, Utica, Watertown, West Seneca, White Plains, Yonkers and all other cities in NY.
New York Insurance Rules & Regulations
In the state of New York, there are a couple of different types of insurance that are regulated by the state that you should be aware of - as well as the regulations behind them. Understanding what is required for business and personal insurance will help you make sure that you have the right insurance if you ever decide to open a business or even if you are simply looking for information on what kinds of personal insurance you need and what sort of oversight there is for them. Let's take a closer look at personal and business insurance in NY State.
NY Commercial Insurance
The first type of insurance is general liability insurance. Although general liability insurance is not required by law for New York businesses, it is a good thing to have. General liability protects companies from lawsuits that stem from slips and falls, damage to property while they are on the premises and a variety of other potential incidents that customers may file a lawsuit for. General liability simply keeps you safe in case something happens to someone on your property and they decide to bring a lawsuit against you.
In addition, businesses in New York must carry specific types of insurance such as Worker's Compensation insurance when they have at least one full or part-time employee. This does not apply to independent contractors and subcontractors. The only other regulation in New York is that commercial vehicles that are operating as part of a business must carry commercial auto insurance.
New York Personal Insurance
Now, we move onto personal insurance starting with auto insurance. New York State requires that anyone operating a motor vehicle carry liability insurance with $25,000 for bodily injury to one person and $50,000 total for a single accident. In addition, motorists must carry $10,000 for property damage as well.
There are also some regulations governing life insurance. In Article 32 of the New York Consolidated Law it says that residents have a free look period that is limited to 10 days, as well as a grace period of 31 days and then insurance companies must make timely payments within 30 days of receiving notification of the death. If the insurance company does not make these payments on time, then interest can be added to the amount owed. You can find out more about this life insurance information as well as information on the New York state guaranty that ensures that you will receive a payment even if your life insurance company goes out of business.
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