Cheapest Car Insurance in New York, NY (2026)

• Cheapest Full Coverage: Progressive $114/month
• Cheapest Minimum Coverage: Kemper $58/month
• Cheapest for Teens & Young Adult Drivers (16-25): Progressive $266/month
• Cheapest for Senior Drivers (65+): Kemper $147/month
• Cheapest for Drivers with a Speeding Ticket: Progressive $64/month
• Cheapest for Drivers with an At-Fault Accident: Progressive $62/month
• Cheapest for Drivers with a DWAI/DUI: Progressive $65/month

Progressive offers the cheapest car insurance in New York City for full coverage at $114 a month and Kemper for minimum coverage at $58. At $2 and $4 apart respectively, the two are essentially tied. The decision between them comes down to your driving record. Progressive is the cheapest option after every violation type in New York City. Kemper carries the lowest customer experience score of the five top companies.

For drivers with a clean record who rarely file claims, Kemper saves a small amount every month. For drivers with a violation on their record, or for anyone who expects to interact with their insurer after an accident or theft claim in one of the country's busiest urban markets, Progressive holds the better position at both coverage levels.

The $52 monthly gap between Progressive's $114 full coverage rate and NYCM's $166 is the widest available saving in this market, worth $624 a year.

• Teens & Young Adult Drivers: Progressive at $266 per month
• Adult drivers: Progressive at $114 per month
• Senior drivers: Kemper at $147 per month

Progressive is cheapest for young drivers ages 16 to 25 in New York City at $266 a month ($3,195 annually) for full coverage, essentially tied with American Family at $267. At $1 apart, the deciding factor is telematics. Progressive's Snapshot program can bring the rate down for safe teen drivers at renewal, a benefit American Family does not offer in New York City.

New York uses gender as a rating factor, so your teen's rate depends on their specific age and gender profile rather than the age-group average. In New York City, Progressive ($266) and American Family ($267) are the cheapest options for teen and young adult drivers, with NYCM Insurance close at $275 and worth including in any quote comparison.

New York allows insurers to apply an experience surcharge to drivers with fewer than three years of licensed driving. This applies on top of the standard age-based rate, meaning a 19-year-old who got their license at 16 pays less than a 19-year-old who got their license at 18. Once a driver crosses the three-year mark, getting new quotes captures the savings that most insurers do not apply automatically at renewal.

Kemper is cheapest for New York City seniors at $147 a month ($1,766 annually) for full coverage, with Progressive the second cheapest at $156, $9 more per month.

Kemper's advantage over Progressive is entirely in price, not service. It holds the lowest customer experience score of the five top companies. For seniors in New York City who park on the street, use their vehicle regularly, or have filed claims before, Progressive is the better choice. Its claims record is stronger in a market where theft, parking damage and storm events generate regular claims. The $9 monthly saving from Kemper is worth taking only if claims are rare.

Progressive's Snapshot telematics program suits seniors with lower mileage and can lower the rate further at renewal for drivers who avoid peak Manhattan traffic hours.

Progressive is cheapest after every violation type in New York City, ranging from $62 after an at-fault accident to $65 after a DWAI. If you have any violation on your record, the first step is getting a Progressive quote. Its rates change just $3 across all three violation types, so the answer is the same regardless of what's on your record.

New York calls drunk driving a DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired) rather than a DUI, and unlike most states, New York does not require an SR-22. A DWAI conviction triggers a Driver Responsibility Assessment (DRA) fee paid directly to the DMV over three years. That fee is separate from the insurance surcharge. Switching insurers does not reduce or eliminate it, but getting the lowest available insurance rate still matters.

Speeding tickets and at-fault accidents affect rates for up to three years per the DMV schedule. DWAI surcharges vary by insurer, with some applying them for more than 10 years, so ask directly when yours ends. In both cases, get new quotes at the three-year mark. The savings do not apply automatically at renewal, and Progressive holds the lowest rate at every violation level in the city.

Progressive's at-fault surcharge raises minimum coverage just $6, and its DWAI rate reaches $65, the same narrow band across all violation levels. For New York City drivers with a violation, that consistency means Progressive is the right insurer regardless of what the violation is.

GEICO's DWAI rate in New York reaches $188, $123 above Progressive's $65. That $123 monthly gap ($1,476 a year) is what most New York City drivers with a DWAI overpay by staying with the wrong insurer. Check what you are currently paying at your violation level and compare it against Progressive's rate from the table above.

New York City drivers pay $209 a month for full coverage and $108 for minimum, against New York's statewide averages of $99 and $51. The city pays nearly double the state average for full coverage and $57 more for minimum.

Progressive at $114 for full coverage is $95 below the New York City average and $15 below the New York state average of $99. A New York City driver who chooses Progressive pays less than the state average despite living in the most expensive market in the state.

Manhattan ranked 5th nationally for vehicle theft in 2024, with nearly 15,700 thefts in the county alone. New York's no-fault PIP system means the average personal auto injury claim runs $46,726, more than double the US average, and healthcare costs in New York City run above the national average, which makes each PIP claim more expensive to settle.

Insurance fraud compounds those costs further, with carriers reporting 43,811 suspected fraud incidents in 2025, up 80% from 2020, and the Governor's office estimating staged crashes and fraud add $300 per year to the average driver's premium. New York City rates peaked in late 2024, fell 13% in 2025 and have begun rising again in 2026.

Progressive is cheapest for full coverage and wins every violation category. The four picks below address situations where rate alone doesn't settle the choice.

The $52 monthly gap between Progressive and NYCM for full coverage is the single biggest saving available to most New York City drivers. Beyond company choice, New York's PIP opt-out option for qualified drivers creates a savings path that does not exist in most states.

Our insurance experts provide clear answers to common questions about finding affordable car insurance:

We collected car insurance rates for both minimum and full coverage across all residential ZIP codes in New York City, using a baseline adult driver with a clean record. The five companies in this analysis (Progressive, Kemper, American Family, GEICO and NYCM Insurance) represent the most affordable carriers operating in New York City. For violation and age profiles, we expanded the analysis to include Erie Insurance to show the full rate range.

New York requires minimum liability coverage of 25/50/10 ($25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, $10,000 property damage), plus mandatory Personal Injury Protection (PIP) of $50,000 per person and $25,000/$50,000 in uninsured motorist coverage.

New York is a no-fault state. PIP covers the policyholder's medical costs up to $50,000 per person after any accident regardless of fault. Drivers may opt out of PIP if they carry qualifying health insurance.

New York does not use SR-22 or FR-44. A DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired) conviction triggers a Driver Responsibility Assessment fee paid to the DMV over three years rather than an SR-22 filing. DUI and DWAI are used interchangeably throughout.

Speeding tickets, at-fault accidents and texting violations affect rates for three years per the New York DMV surcharge schedule. DWAI surcharge periods vary by insurer, with some applying them for more than 10 years.

New York permits gender and credit score as auto insurance rating factors. USAA is excluded from our analysis because its policies are available only to military members and their families. Read more on MoneyGeek's auto insurance analysis methodology.