Car Insurance in New York

State minimum coverage requirements

Under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 311, all New York drivers must maintain the following minimum coverage:

• $25,000 bodily injury per person ($50,000 for death)
• $50,000 bodily injury per accident ($100,000 for death)
• $10,000 property damage per accident
• $50,000 no-fault Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
• $25,000/$50,000 uninsured motorist coverage (mandatory)

New York has a continuous coverage requirement, meaning you cannot cancel your insurance while your vehicle remains registered. If you are not driving a vehicle and want to cancel your policy, you must first surrender the license plates to the DMV. Allowing your policy to lapse results in automatic license and registration suspension the day coverage ends. Penalties for driving without insurance include fines of $150 to $1,500, a civil penalty of $8 per day for every day you drove uninsured up to $900, and license and registration revocation. Reinstating your driving privileges requires proof of a new policy, payment of fees, and resolution of any outstanding suspension period.

How no-fault insurance works in New York

New York is a no-fault state, meaning your own PIP coverage pays for your medical expenses and a portion of lost wages after an accident regardless of who caused it. The mandatory $50,000 no-fault benefit in New York is among the highest required minimums in the country. PIP covers 80 percent of medical expenses and lost earnings up to the policy limit. New York's no-fault system restricts your ability to sue the other driver for minor injuries. To step outside the no-fault system and bring a liability claim against an at-fault driver, your injuries must meet the serious injury threshold defined under New York Insurance Law Section 5102(d). Qualifying injuries include fractures, significant disfigurement, permanent consequential limitation of a body organ or member, significant limitation of use of a body function or system, or a medically determined injury that prevents you from performing substantially all of your usual daily activities for at least 90 of the 180 days following the accident. New York also applies a pure comparative negligence rule, which means even if you were partially at fault for an accident, you can recover compensation from the other driver reduced proportionally by your share of fault. This applies to claims that qualify under the serious injury threshold.

What the minimum coverage does not include

New York's minimum requirements leave significant gaps. The mandatory coverage does not pay for:

• Damage to your own vehicle from a collision
• Theft, flooding, fire, or vandalism to your vehicle
• Medical costs beyond $50,000 in a serious accident
• Liability damages that exceed the 25/50 limits

Uninsured motorist coverage is mandatory

Unlike most states where uninsured motorist coverage must only be offered to drivers who can then choose to reject it, New York requires all auto insurance policies to include UM coverage at a minimum of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. This mandatory inclusion reflects the state legislature's recognition that uninsured drivers create real financial harm for other road users who may have no practical way to recover damages from someone with no assets or insurance. Your UM coverage in New York also applies in hit-and-run accidents where the responsible driver cannot be identified, which is an important protection given the volume of traffic in New York City and surrounding areas. You may purchase UM coverage above the mandatory minimum for additional protection. If you carry liability limits higher than $25,000/$50,000, which is advisable for most drivers, raising your UM limits to match your liability limits provides a more complete and balanced policy.

How credit affects your rate in New York

New York permits insurers to use a credit-based insurance score as one factor when pricing auto policies. The check is a soft inquiry and does not affect your credit report or credit score. New York law requires insurers to notify you if credit information results in an adverse action on your policy, giving you the opportunity to review your credit report for inaccuracies. If your credit has improved since your last renewal, shopping new quotes across multiple carriers is worthwhile because carriers weight credit differently and improvements in your score can reduce your premium even without any change in your driving record.

Recommended coverage levels

New York's mandatory minimums are more comprehensive than most states but still leave meaningful gaps. The $25,000 per person bodily injury limit can be consumed quickly in a serious accident involving significant injuries, and the $10,000 property damage limit does not reflect the cost of repairing or replacing a newer vehicle. Most advisors recommend increasing liability to at least 100/300/100 and adding collision and comprehensive if your vehicle is worth more than a few thousand dollars. If your vehicle is financed or leased, your lender will require collision and comprehensive regardless. New York City residents specifically may want to compare the annual collision premium against their vehicle's current value, as the cost of collision coverage in high-density urban zip codes can be substantial relative to the benefit it provides on an older vehicle.

How insurers determine your rate in New York

New York insurers use your driving record, zip code, vehicle type, years of licensed experience, annual mileage, and credit-based insurance score to calculate your premium. Zip code is an exceptionally significant factor in New York due to the wide differences in claim frequency and cost between New York City and upstate areas. Rates in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx are among the highest in the country for any urban area. At-fault accidents and moving violations typically affect your rate for three years. New York uses territory-based rating filed with the Department of Financial Services, which means carriers price specific zip codes based on historical claims data from those areas. Because of this, two drivers with identical records, vehicles, and coverage can pay very different premiums if they live in different parts of the state.

No-fault fraud and its effect on premiums

New York has a documented history of no-fault insurance fraud, particularly in the New York City metro area. Staged accidents, inflated medical billing on PIP claims, and treatment at clinics operating specifically to exploit the no-fault system have historically increased the cost of insurance across the state. The New York State Insurance Frauds Bureau investigates these cases, and the state legislature has passed several laws aimed at tightening which medical providers can bill no-fault claims and how quickly they must submit treatment. These fraud-related costs are distributed across all policyholders in the state as higher base rates, which is one reason New York premiums tend to be elevated even for drivers with clean records and no prior claims.