Top 9 Tips to Save on Car Insurance in New York, NY

Cutting costs on New York car insurance is always a challenge for beginners to buying insurance online. There are so many companies to choose from that it can quickly become a real hassle to compare prices in New York.

Lots of discounts mean lots of savings

Companies that sell car insurance don’t list every discount very well, so we took the time to find both the well known and also the lesser-known ways to save on car insurance. If you don’t get every credit possible, you are throwing money away.

• Auto/Life Discount – Larger companies have a break if you buy life insurance from them.
• Driver Safety – Successfully completing a course teaching defensive driving skills could possibly earn you a 5% discount if your company offers it.
• Multiple Vehicles – Buying insurance for multiple vehicles with the same company could earn a price break for each car.
• Anti-theft Discount – Cars that have factory anti-theft systems can help prevent theft and therefore earn up to a 10% discount.
• Distant Student – Any of your kids who attend school more than 100 miles from home and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
• No Accidents – Drivers with accident-free driving histories can save substantially compared to accident-prone drivers.
• Military Discounts – Being on active duty in the military could mean lower rates.
• Discounts for Safe Drivers – Drivers who don’t get into accidents may receive a discount up to 45% less than less cautious drivers.
• Homeowners Savings – Simply owning a home may earn you a small savings due to the fact that maintaining a home requires personal responsibility.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discounts do not apply the the whole policy. Most cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way.

To choose insurers with the best car insurance discounts in New York, follow this link.

Cheap New York Car Insurance Comparisons

Getting a cheaper price on insurance is not a difficult process. You just have to spend a few minutes comparing rates provided by online insurance companies. This can be done in several different ways.

1. The best way to find low rates would be an industry-wide quote request form click to view form in new window. This form keeps you from doing separate quotation requests for each company you want a rate for. A single, simple form compares rates direct from many companies.It’s the quickest way to get rates.
2. Another way to obtain and compare quotes online consists of visiting the website of each company to complete their respective quote request forms. For examples sake, let’s assume you want to compare Auto-Owners, Esurance and Progressive. To get each rate you have to spend time on each company’s site and enter your information, which is why most consumers use the first method.

   To view a list of companies in New York, click here.

3. The least efficient method to compare rates is to waste gas driving to and from local New York insurance agencies. Shopping for car insurance online makes this process obsolete unless you require the professional advice of a local New York agent. However, consumers can obtain prices from the web but buy from a local insurance agent.

It’s up to you which method you use, but ensure you are comparing identical quote information for each comparison quote. If you are comparing unequal deductibles or liability limits it’s impossible to make a fair comparison in New York.

Auto insurance coverages

Having a good grasp of car insurance can be of help when determining appropriate coverage and proper limits and deductibles. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy.

Auto liability insurance

Liability coverage provides protection from damages or injuries you inflict on a person or their property by causing an accident. Split limit liability has three limits of coverage: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. As an example, you may have policy limits of 25/50/25 that translate to a limit of $25,000 per injured person, a limit of $50,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $25,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability insurance covers things such as repair costs for stationary objects, bail bonds, structural damage and attorney fees. The amount of liability coverage you purchase is a personal decision, but it’s cheap coverage so purchase as large an amount as possible. New York state minimum liability requirements are 25,000/50,000/10,000 but drivers should carry more liability than the minimum.

Medical expense insurance

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses such as rehabilitation expenses, chiropractic care, hospital visits, nursing services and surgery. They can be used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if you do not have health coverage. It covers not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. Personal Injury Protection is not universally available and may carry a deductible

Comprehensive (Other than Collision)

Comprehensive insurance will pay to fix damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. A deductible will apply and the remainder of the damage will be paid by comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for things such as a broken windshield, theft, vandalism, damage from a tornado or hurricane and falling objects. The highest amount your car insurance company will pay is the market value of your vehicle, so if your deductible is as high as the vehicle’s value it’s not worth carrying full coverage.

Coverage for collisions

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage from colliding with a stationary object or other vehicle. A deductible applies then your collision coverage will kick in.

Collision insurance covers things like scraping a guard rail, hitting a parking meter, crashing into a building and crashing into a ditch. Collision is rather expensive coverage, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from vehicles that are older. You can also increase the deductible in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Protection from uninsured/underinsured drivers

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle from other drivers when they either are underinsured or have no liability coverage at all. Covered claims include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since many New York drivers have only the minimum liability required by law (25/50/10), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. So UM/UIM coverage is very important.

Quote often and quote early

Consumers who switch companies do it for any number of reasons including delays in responding to claim requests, unfair underwriting practices, questionable increases in premium or even extreme rates for teen drivers. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching companies is not as difficult as it may seem.

Low-cost car insurance can be purchased online and also from your neighborhood New York agents, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some companies may not provide online quoting and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent agents.

When trying to cut insurance costs, it’s not a good idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. In many cases, someone sacrificed collision coverage only to regret they didn’t purchase enough coverage. The proper strategy is to find the BEST coverage at a price you can afford.