Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Buffalo, NY (2023 Rates)

Your needs and driver profile affect which company is cheapest. In Buffalo, Kemper offers the cheapest minimum and full coverage policies. It’s also ideal for military-background or sports car drivers, with a speeding ticket or poor credit score, teens, young adults and seniors. Drivers with an at-fault accident or DWI may fare better with Progressive.

If you’re looking for a blend of affordability and quality service, MoneyGeek found the best car insurance companies in Buffalo.

We found that a minimum coverage policy is, on average, the cheapest from the following car insurance companies in Buffalo:

• Kemper: $364 per year
• Progressive: $442 per year

At roughly $1,874 per year, Mercury is the most expensive auto insurer of the companies MoneyGeek surveyed in Buffalo.

Kemper also offers the most affordable car insurance in New York, costing an average of $518 per year for minimum coverage. That makes the state as a whole more expensive for the company than Buffalo.

New York’s minimum car insurance requirements include bodily injury liability, property damage liability, uninsured motorist coverage and personal injury protection with the following limits:

• $25,000 per person in bodily injury liability
• $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability
• $50,000 per person in liability for death
• $100,000 per accident in liability for death
• $10,000 per accident in property damage liability
• $25,000 per person in uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage
• $50,000 per accident in uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage
• $50,000 in personal injury protection

A minimum coverage policy only provides financial protection against the cost of damages to the other driver in an accident. If you are at fault and have $25,000 per person in bodily injury liability, and the total cost of expenses is $35,000 for one person, your insurer will only pay for $25,000, and you must cover the rest.

In Buffalo, the following car insurance providers have the average lowest rate for a full coverage policy:

• Kemper: $603 per year
• Progressive: $715 per year

A full coverage policy from Mercury is the most expensive in Buffalo, costing around $3,325 per year.

Kemper is also the cheapest car insurance company for full coverage in New York at roughly $882 per year, higher than the rate for Buffalo.

A full coverage policy includes comprehensive and collision insurance along with the required coverages in New York.

• Collision insurance: You are covered for repair or replacement costs if your car gets damaged after colliding with another vehicle or object. Examples of objects include a tree, fence or light pole. You also have coverage for rollover accidents.
• Comprehensive insurance: You are covered for repair or replacement costs if your car gets damaged due to a weather-related event, fire, theft, vandalism or other non-collision incident.

Although full coverage provides additional financial protection, paying hundreds more may not be wise if your vehicle is older or has a low value.

For Buffalo drivers with a violation on their record, on average, the least expensive car insurance companies for full coverage are the following:

• Speeding ticket: Kemper ($733 per year)
• At-fault accident: Progressive ($715 per year)
• DUI: Progressive ($747 per year)

Mercury has the highest average annual rate in Buffalo with full coverage after a speeding ticket ($4,096), an at-fault accident ($3,563) or a DWI ($4,298). (Note: New York does not use DUI — it uses driving while intoxicated or DWI.)

A poor driving record may mean paying more for car insurance, and the company with the cheapest rate with a moving violation is likely to still cost more for a policy than what a clean record driver pays.

It doesn’t always happen, but car insurance rates may increase with the severity of the moving violation. For example, Buffalo drivers with a DWI may pay around $616 more a year for full coverage than those with a speeding ticket. But it’s possible to get cheap car insurance with a bad driving record.

Buffalo’s average cheapest car insurance companies for 16-year-old teen drivers on a family policy with full coverage are the following:

• Kemper: $1,048 per year for female teens; $1,083 per year for male teens
• GEICO: at $1,574 per year for female teens
• Progressive: $1,821 per year for male teens

State Farm is, on average, the most expensive company in Buffalo for male teens ($5,644 per year) or female teens ($4,662 per year) on a family policy.

Because auto insurers consider younger men riskier to insure, male teens tend to pay more for coverage than female teens. Depending on the company, the difference may be small ($37 from Kemper) or significant ($1,038 from State Farm). In young adulthood, the gender cost difference diminishes.

Because auto insurance for teens is expensive, it’s wiser to add them to a family policy than buy a separate policy. Plus, in most cases, teens under 18 cannot legally buy auto insurance — a parent or guardian must co-sign. In Buffalo, a 16-year-old male teen’s policy may cost roughly $3,359 more a year than a family policy. By shopping around, you can find the cheapest auto insurance for teens.

For drivers with a military background, on average, the most affordable companies for full coverage in Buffalo are the following:

• Kemper: $603 per year
• Progressive: $715 per year

At an average cost of $1,132 per year, USAA is another option since it tailors its policies to active-duty military members, veterans and their families. You may also want to get a quote from GEICO because it has military-specific discounts that may save you a great deal on car insurance in Buffalo.

If you choose minimum coverage in Buffalo, Kemper also offers the average cheapest car insurance for military families at $364 per year, while Progressive has the second lowest rate at $442 per year.

Getting a car insurance quote online in Buffalo from one company involves submitting various personal details, which can take 15 minutes or more — comparing quotes from different insurers can be time-consuming.

To help ease this process, MoneyGeek created a car insurance calculator that provides a rough estimate of your rate from multiple providers based on basic information such as age, vehicle type, coverage level and driving record.

The following companies offer the average cheapest car insurance for young adults in Buffalo with full coverage:

• Kemper: $752 per year
• Progressive: $824 per year

At about $3,883 per year, Hanover is the most expensive for full coverage in Buffalo.

Auto insurance rates tend to be more expensive for younger drivers because of their higher incidence of at-fault accidents and moving violations. Case in point, 25-year-olds in Buffalo pay around $273 more yearly for full coverage than 40-year-olds.

In Buffalo, on average, the least expensive car insurance for seniors with full coverage is offered by the following:

• Kemper: $577 per year
• Progressive: $714 per year

The most expensive full coverage policy is about $3,677 per year from Mercury.

Seniors tend to pay more for coverage than middle-aged drivers because of an increased risk of accidents. In Buffalo, 65-year-old drivers pay around $64 more for insurance than 40-year-old drivers.

On average, the cheapest auto insurance for drivers with bad credit that need full coverage in Buffalo is offered by the following companies:

• Kemper: $1,520 per year
• Chubb: $1,811 per year

Hanover is the most expensive insurer at $304,581 per year.

Car insurance rates tend to be higher for drivers with bad credit than those with good credit. In Buffalo, the difference could be 1,834.17% or around $29,652 a year.

Car insurance companies charge higher rates to drivers with poor credit because they believe they are more likely to submit claims. Those with lower credit-based insurance scores may reduce their auto insurance rate by looking for discounts, bundling policies or comparing quotes to find the best and cheapest provider.

You may also improve your credit score over time — ways to do this include making payments on time and keeping your credit card utilization low.

On average, Buffalo’s most affordable car insurance companies for drivers with sports cars and full coverage are the following:

• Kemper: $632 per year
• Progressive: $849 per year

The most expensive insurer for a sports car in Buffalo is Travelers, costing roughly $1,951 per year.

Depending on the location, companies may charge a higher rate to drivers with a sports car. However, in Buffalo, drivers with a sports car pay around $265 (or -16.41%) less a year than those with a standard Toyota Camry.

We used a Ford Mustang in our analysis to represent a sports car, but pricing can change by make and model. Those with luxury, electric or sports cars tend to have a more expensive premium. But in some exceptional cases, for example, in Buffalo, they may pay less.

In Buffalo, the average cost of full coverage car insurance is $1,518 per year. That is around $510 cheaper than the average cost of car insurance in New York, but roughly $253 more expensive than the national average of $1,265 per year.

As of October 2022, Buffalo is cheaper than New York City (around $2,843 per year) and more expensive than Rochester (roughly $1,177/year). That said, location is just one of many factors impacting car insurance rates.

These rates are for a full coverage policy with $100,000 per person in bodily injury liability, $300,000 per accident in bodily injury liability and $100,000 per accident in property damage liability.