Cheapest Car Insurance in New Jersey (2026)

Cheapest Car Insurance Companies and Rates in New Jersey by Coverage and Driver Profile:

• Cheapest Full Coverage: NJM Insurance and Selective Insurance $123/month
• Cheapest Minimum Coverage: Selective Insurance $68/month
• Cheapest for Teen Drivers: NJM Insurance $326/month
• Cheapest for Seniors: NJM Insurance $122/month
• Cheapest With a Speeding Ticket: Selective Insurance $123/month
• Cheapest With an At-Fault Accident: NJM Insurance $133/month
• Cheapest With a DUI: NJM Insurance $149/month
• Cheapest With Bad Credit: Travelers $176/month

Selective has the cheapest minimum coverage in New Jersey at $68 a month, $3 less than GEICO at $71. With such a small cost difference, your decision comes down to your service preferences. Selective sells through independent agents, while GEICO sells direct with no local agent, and it lets you add emergency road service (towing, jump starts, lockouts, flat tires). On a minimum coverage policy, your insurer's job is the other driver's claim against you. GEICO's customer experience score of 3.67 out of 5 beats Selective's 3.44, so GEICO is less likely to drag out a claim that can end with you named in a lawsuit.

NJM and Selective tie for the cheapest full coverage in New Jersey at $123 a month, so the choice between them depends on the driver. 

NJM suits a driver who wants fewer claim disputes and a small bill after an accident. Its customer experience score is 4.04 out of 5 against Selective's 3.44, and an at-fault accident adds only $10 a month to its rate. Plus, NJM's transportation expense coverage lets you choose between a taxi, a rideshare or a rental while your car is in the shop. One drawback: NJM doesn't sell accident forgiveness in New Jersey.

Selective suits a driver who wants protection against a first accident or a replacement option for a newer car. An at-fault accident moves Selective's rate $80 a month, from $123 to $203, and its accident forgiveness add-on exists to remove that increase. Newer Car Replacement pays for a car one model year newer with 15,000 fewer miles after a total loss. Choice Replacement Cost replaces the car with the latest model year for two, four or six years from purchase. Selective's downsides are the lower service score and the $80 accident surcharge if you skip the forgiveness add-on.

Full coverage costs $45 more a month than minimum at NJM, $123 versus $78, or $540 a year. That difference buys collision and comprehensive coverage. With a $1,000 deductible, a car worth $3,000 returns at most $2,000 after a total loss, less than four years of the extra premium. Below that value, minimum coverage costs less than full coverage can pay back. A financed or leased car needs full coverage regardless.

Every minimum rate above is for New Jersey's standard policy at 35/70/25, plus $15,000 in personal injury protection. The standard policy requires uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage at 35/70. The lower-cost Basic policy leaves it out and caps property damage at $5,000. About 14% of New Jersey drivers are uninsured, according to the Insurance Information Institute, so skipping the standard policy to save money leaves you exposed.

NJM has the cheapest teen car insurance in New Jersey at every age from 16 to 25: $326 a month for a 16-year-old female and $341 for a male on a family policy, falling to $235 and $240 at 25.  

NJM lists three discounts that fit a teen driver: a driver training discount in New Jersey, a defensive driving discount on liability, PIP, and collision for MVC-approved courses, and a good student discount for a 3.0 GPA or honor roll. Ask for all three at the first quote. NJM's limitation is accident forgiveness, which it doesn't sell in New Jersey. A parent who wants a guaranteed accident forgiveness waiver has to look at Selective or Plymouth Rock, which both sell it. A parent with another insurer today can switch without a coverage gap.  

New Jersey permits gender-based insurance pricing, with lower rates for teen females than teen males. Drivers turning 26 should re-quote on an individual policy to get rates closer to an adult with a clean record.

NJM has the cheapest car insurance for seniors in New Jersey at $122 a month for full coverage, $36 less than Amica's $158. 

Amica's extra $36 a month ($432 a year) buys two specific features: its Platinum Choice Auto package pays $5,000 toward a rental with no daily limit, where NJM's transportation expense coverage has a daily cap. It also covers glass repair with no deductible. That coverage package is best for someone with one car who drives highways and depends on it for appointments. A senior with a second car or a short commute gets little from either feature, so NJM at $122 is the better call. NJM's limitations are the daily rental cap and no accident forgiveness in New Jersey. 

New Jersey law requires every insurance company to give drivers 55 and older a minimum 5% discount for three years after comleting an approved six-hour mature driver course. On NJM's $122 monthly rate that saves $6 a month ($73 a year, $220 over the three years), bringing the rate to $116 and widening NJM's lead over Amica to $42. NJM lists its New Jersey version as a defensive driving discount, so ask how the 5% applies before you pay for the course.

Although Selective has the cheapest minimum coverage on average across the state of New Jersey, Plymouth Rock is cheapest in 19 of New Jersey's 20 largest cities. Thirteen of Plymouth Rock's cities price below its $78 statewide minimum rate and six price above it: Clifton and Passaic at $80, Jersey City at $81, Newark at $84, and Elizabeth and Paterson at $85. Those last four are the most expensive cities on the list. Middletown is the one exception, where Selective is cheapest at $57, $4 below Edison's $61.

NJM is the cheapest insurer after a DUI at $149 per month for full coverage, only $26 above its $123 clean rate. New Jersey doesn't require an SR-22 filing after a DUI conviction, unlike most states. Insurers set their own surcharge period which can range from three to five years, so ask yours when it ends and re-quote then. 

NJM is also cheapest after an at-fault accident at $133 and after a texting ticket at $149. Selective is cheapest after a speeding ticket at $123, the same as its clean rate.

Travelers has the cheapest full coverage for drivers with poor credit at $176 per month. New Jersey allows insurers to use credit scoring but doesn't let them deny, cancel or non-renew you over it. Re-quote with NJM once your credit improves since it's the cheapest company in our dataset for adult drivers with good credit.

MoneyGeek analyzed car insurance rates from Quadrant Information Services, collected from state insurance filing records across all residential ZIP codes in New Jersey. These are filed rates, not estimates or online quote approximations. Violation profiles cover 12 insurance companies. Customer experience scores combine J.D. Power survey results, NAIC complaint data, AM Best financial strength ratings, agent network ratings and Google Business ratings. MoneyGeek scores are not shown in the rate tables on this page. For scored rankings, see our best car insurance in New Jersey page.  

Baseline driver profile: A 40-year-old male driving a 2012 Toyota Camry LE with a clean driving record, good credit and 12,000 miles annually. Full coverage uses 100/300/100 liability limits with a $1,000 deductible for collision and comprehensive. Minimum coverage uses New Jersey's standard-policy minimums of 35/70/25, effective January 1, 2026, plus the required personal injury protection and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

Profile variations:

• Young drivers: Ages 16 to 25 on a family policy, rated separately by gender. Gender is a permitted rating factor in New Jersey.
• Seniors: A 70-year-old driver, same vehicle and coverage as the baseline.
• Violations: The baseline profile with one driving record variable changed at a time, all other variables held constant.
• Poor credit: The baseline profile with credit tier changed to poor. New Jersey allows insurers to use credit scoring but doesn't let them deny, cancel or non-renew a policy over it.
• Cities: minimum coverage rates for the 20 most populous cities, from the baseline profile.

USAA exclusion: USAA is excluded from all provider tables. It is available only to military members, veterans and their immediate families, and eligible drivers should include it in any quote comparison.