Finding Cheap Car Insurance in New Jersey
You shouldn’t have to do a whole lot of digging to find a good deal on car insurance in the Garden State. We evaluated large car insurance companies in New Jersey to help you find the best rates.
Featured Car Insurance Partners
1
Geico
$1,182
$1,579
Low
2
Nationwide
$1,540
$1,970
Very low
3
Travelers
$1,435
$1,828
Very Low
Finding Cheap Car Insurance in New Jersey
Comparison shopping to find cheap car insurance in New Jersey shouldn’t be a hassle. We evaluated options in New Jersey to find the lowest options.
Cheap New Jersey car insurance for good drivers
NJM and Travelers are the cheapest New Jersey car insurance companies for good drivers, among the companies we analyzed.
Cheap Car Insurance in New Jersey for Drivers With a Speeding Ticket
A speeding ticket increases car insurance rates by 33% in New Jersey. The exact rate increase will depend on the insurance company. Even though you’ll face higher insurance rates, you can still compare quotes for the best car insurance.
NJM and Geico have the best average auto insurance costs for drivers with a speeding ticket in New Jersey, so make sure to get quotes from those companies if you’re shopping for New Jersey car insurance and have a speeding ticket on your record.
Cheap New Jersey Car Insurance for Drivers Who Caused an Accident With Injury
Causing a car crash with an injury to someone else will make it harder to find cheap car insurance. Our analysis found an average increase of 53% in New Jersey compared to drivers with a good driving record.
If you cause a car accident with an injury, NJM and Selective Insurance may have the most competitive prices among the insurers in our analysis.
Cheap New Jersey car insurance for drivers with a DUI
Car insurance premiums in New Jersey go up an average of 82% if you have a DUI conviction on your record. You can still compare car insurance quotes to find better rates.
The cheapest New Jersey car insurance companies for drivers with a DUI are NJM and Progressive, among the insurers we analyzed.
Cheap New Jersey Car insurance for drivers with poor credit
New Jersey car insurance companies usually charge drivers higher rates if they have poor credit. People with bad credit pay an average of 65% more for car insurance in New Jersey.
NJM and Progressive may be good options if you’re looking for cheap New Jersey auto insurance and you have poor credit.
Cheap New Jersey car insurance for adding a teen driver
Adding a teen to your auto insurance increases rates by an average of 82% in New Jersey, compared to rates for a married couple without a teen driver.
Consider getting quotes from American Independent and New Jersey Manufacturers if you’re looking for cheap car insurance for teens in New Jersey.
Cheap New Jersey car insurance for young drivers ages 18 to 25
Purchasing your own car insurance is a costly entry into adulthood. Our analysis found that Geico and NJM offer the cheapest New Jersey car insurance for young drivers.
Cheap New Jersey Car Insurance for Senior Drivers Ages 60-80
Geico and NJM offer the best car insurance for seniors who are looking for low costs in New Jersey. Older drivers should also find out if there’s a discount for taking a defensive driver class.
Featured Car Insurance Partners
1
Geico
Good
C-
Low
2
Travelers
Good
C+
Very Low
Car Insurance Discounts Required in New Jersey
Most states mandate that car insurers offer specific car insurance discounts. New Jersey car insurance companies must offer these three discounts at a minimum.
Anti-theft and safety device discount
Auto insurance companies in New Jersey must offer a lower rate for cars with approved anti-theft or safety devices. These discounts vary by at least 5% to at least 20% depending on the device.
Defensive driving course discount
Drivers who take an approved defensive driving course must receive a discount of at least 5% in New Jersey. The discount is available for three years. Drivers can accrue up to three motor vehicle violation points and still get the discount. Four or more points or a license suspension ends the discount.
Single insured discount
New Jersey car insurance must give a discount on personal injury protection (PIP) in a policy if the insured person is the only licensed driver in the household and has at least two cars covered by the same insurance company. The discount, which is at least 50%, is available for three years.
Least Expensive Vehicles for Insurance in New Jersey
In New Jersey, the Honda Pilot SE, Chevrolet Colorado and Ford Ranger Lariat are among the cheapest vehicles for insurance, based on average rates for 50 top-selling models. The 20 least expensive are below.
The most expensive vehicles for insurance in New Jersey among popular models are the Tesla Model S Performance ($4,462 per year) and Volvo XC90 T8 Inscription ($3,302 per year).
Paying for Car Accident Injuries in New Jersey
New Jersey is a no-fault insurance state where you make most injury claims on your own insurance, no matter who caused the auto accident. For this purpose, you need personal injury protection (PIP).
PIP insurance has two parts:
1. Basic benefits. Payments for medical bills such as doctors and medical equipment.
2. Additional PIP benefits. Reimbursement for lost wages if you can’t work because of the accident, and reimbursement for “essential services” for tasks you can’t do. This could include house cleaning, child care and transportation. This part also includes death benefits and funeral expenses.
In New Jersey you can purchase both parts of PIP or just basic benefits (medical bills).
If you purchase “additional PIP benefits,” prepare yourself for a long list of choices for coverage amounts for lost wages, essential services, and death and funeral benefits.
“Additional PIP benefits” choices
Choosing Health Insurance over New Jersey PIP Insurance
If you have good health insurance, you can designate your health insurer as your primary payer for auto accident injuries. This means your own health insurance will pay first, and your PIP would be secondary, covering some costs not paid by health insurance.
To do this, select the “I choose health insurer for PIP option” on the Coverage Selection Form.
But if you have a high deductible health plan, or high copays and co-insurance, you might decide to keep PIP as the primary coverage for car accidents.
Buying Maximum New Jersey PIP
The maximum PIP coverage available is $250,000, and that’s what most drivers buy, according to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance. You can choose a lower PIP limit such as $150,000, $75,000, $50,000 or $15,000.
No matter what PIP amount you choose, you’ll get $250,000 in PIP coverage if you suffer “permanent and significant” car accident injuries such as brain injury, spinal cord injury and disfigurement.
Liability Insurance in New Jersey
For property damage. New Jersey requires property damage liability insurance with at least $25,000 in coverage. This pays for property damage you accidentally cause with your vehicle. For example, if you crash into a building or someone else’s car, they can make a claim against your property damage liability insurance. It’s good to have high limits in case you’re sued for substantial property damage.
For injuries. New Jersey also requires bodily injury liability insurance with at least $25,000 in coverage per person and $50,000 per accident. This is often written as 25/50. This pays when you cause injuries to others. Wait, you may be thinking, I thought drivers made injury claims on their own PIP insurance? That’s true, but they can still sue you for pain and suffering and lost wages.
Lawsuit options. New Jersey defines two options for suing other people: Limitation on Lawsuit Option (costs less) and No Limitation on Lawsuit Option. This choice affects your ability to sue other drivers for pain and suffering. Your medical bills for car accident injuries are still paid by your own PIP insurance.
- Unlimited right. You can sue for pain and suffering for any type of injury.
- Limited. You can sue for pain and suffering only if you have a “serious injury” as defined by New Jersey law: Loss of body part; significant disfigurement or significant scarring; a displaced fracture; loss of a fetus; permanent injury, meaning the body part or organ, or both, has not healed to function normally and will not heal to function normally with further medical treatment based on objective medical proof; death.
New Jersey Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage
New Jersey drivers must have uninsured motorist (UM) coverage. If someone without insurance, or not enough, crashes into your car, this coverage pays for your car damage and injuries that the other person should have paid for. UM does not pay the other driver, it pays you.
The amount of uninsured motorist coverage you choose for bodily injury must match the amount you have for liability insurance. So if you have 100/300 for bodily injury liability, you should have 100/300 in UM bodily injury coverage.
Uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) of $25,000 is required in New Jersey. UMPD comes with a $500 deductible, the amount an insurer will deduct from a claim payment check.
What Else Should I Have?
Despite the long list of coverage choices above, there are still other important picks to make. Collision and comprehensive coverage together cover car theft and damage to your car from problems such as flood, fire, hail, vandalism, falling objects, riots and collisions with animals such as deer.
Summary: Required New Jersey Car Insurance
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance has an auto insurance worksheet that walks you through the many auto insurance options in the state, including coverage and deductible choices. We recommend using this worksheet before you get auto insurance quotes, so you have a good idea of what you’ll want.
New Jersey’s Basic and Special Policies
For drivers seeking even less coverage than a Standard policy, New Jersey allows two other choices:
- The Basic Auto Insurance policy has less coverage than a Standard policy but still provides enough to meet legal requirements.
- The Special Auto Insurance Policy (SAIP) has extremely low coverage and is available only to drivers who are eligible for federal Medicaid with hospitalization.
We don’t recommend either of these because of the potential for unpaid car accident bills and large lawsuits against you.
Can I Show My New Jersey Insurance ID Card from My Phone?
New Jersey allows you to show proof of auto insurance from your mobile phone. If your insurer doesn’t offer a way to electronically access your insurance ID card, keep a paper copy handy.
Factors Allowed in New Jersey Car Insurance Rates
It makes sense that your driving history is a factor in your auto insurance rates. Problems like speeding tickets and other moving violations make you look like a risky driver. Car insurance companies also typically factor in past insurance claims, address, vehicle model and more. In New Jersey, companies can also use these factors.
How Many Uninsured Drivers are in New Jersey?
About 3% of New Jersey’s drivers have no auto insurance, making it the state with the least amount of uninsured motorists on the road, according to the Insurance Research Council. That’s well below the national average of 13%, and nearly three times lower than Mississippi, the state with the highest uninsured driver, which is 29%.
Penalties for Driving Without Auto Insurance in New Jersey
If you’re caught driving without liability insurance in New Jersey, the penalties are a $300 to $1,000 fine, community service, and loss of your driver’s license for one year.
When Can Your New Jersey Car Insurance be Canceled?
New Jersey law says auto insurance can be canceled for these reasons:
- You didn’t pay the premium.
- You made a material misrepresentation or didn’t disclose a fact that increases the risk you’ll make a claim.
- You had a lack of cooperation in matters that could substantially increase the risk.
- You failed to provide reasonable and necessary information to the insurance company.
When Can a Vehicle Be Totaled in New Jersey?
Under New Jersey law, your auto insurance company can decide if it’s “economically impractical” to repair your car. This generally happens when repair costs are almost as high as the value of the vehicle.
Solving New Jersey Insurance Problems
The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance is responsible for monitoring insurance companies and helping consumers with insurance problems. See their consumer assistance page.
Methodology
To find the cheapest auto insurance companies in New Jersey, we used rates from Quadrant Information Services, a provider of insurance data and analytics. Except where noted, rates are based on a 40-year-old female driver with a clean record insuring a new Toyota RAV4 with $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability (known as 100/300/100), uninsured motorist coverage and any other coverage required in the state. Rates also include collision and comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible.
State averages for New Jersey are based on rates from Allstate, American Independent, Amica Mutual, Esurance, Foremost, Geico, Mercury, NJM, Palisades Group, Penn National, Progressive, Selective Insurance, State Farm, Travelers and White Mountains.
