What Are the Best Auto Insurance Companies in New York?

Last Updated on October 4, 2026 by James Shaffer

Travelers and New York Central Mutual (NYCM) are useful starting points when shopping for car insurance in New York. Travelers led New York in J.D. Power’s 2026 customer satisfaction study, while NYCM led the state in 2025. Both belong on a comparison list, but neither is guaranteed to offer the best price or policy for your household.

The right choice depends on your driving record, garaging address, vehicle, coverage needs, and how you want to get help. Use the shortlist below to choose several insurers, then compare written quotes with the same limits and deductibles.

Best Car Insurance Companies to Compare in New York

These are starting points for different shopping preferences, not a cheapest-to-most-expensive ranking. Availability, eligibility, and policy features must be confirmed for your address and vehicles.

Company	Why Include It?	What to Check
Travelers	New York’s highest-ranked insurer in J.D. Power’s 2026 satisfaction study.	Compare its actual premium and available endorsements; the award does not establish the lowest price.
New York Central Mutual (NYCM)	A New York-focused insurer with agent service and the state’s top J.D. Power satisfaction result in 2025.	Ask an agent to compare a standalone auto quote with a home or renters bundle.
State Farm	An option for drivers who want a local agent to help manage their policy.	Ask who handles policy changes and claims questions, and which discounts apply to your household.
GEICO	A useful direct quote for drivers comfortable shopping online.	Check coverage selections and the full policy-term cost, including installment fees.
Progressive	Offers online and agent shopping channels, plus tools for exploring different coverage and price combinations.	Keep your chosen limits fixed when using pricing tools; compare any driving-monitoring terms separately.
Erie	An independent-agent option for drivers who want help selecting coverage.	Confirm availability and the exact New York policy features with a local ERIE agent.
Amica	A direct insurer to compare when you want company representatives and online policy and claims tools.	Review optional benefits, deductibles, and the combined cost if you also insure your home.
USAA	An additional comparison for eligible military-connected households and other qualifying applicants.	Confirm property and casualty eligibility directly with USAA before relying on a quote.

Other Companies Worth Considering

You do not need a quote from every insurer. Add options that fit your household or expand the choices available through your agent:

• For a broader comparison: Request comparable quotes from Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, or Farmers. If you bundle, compare the total cost and coverage of both policies.
• For additional agent-sourced quotes: Ask about Preferred Mutual, Utica National, Mercury, and National General. Your agent can identify which companies are accepting applicants with your profile.
• For AARP program shoppers: The Hartford offers an AARP Auto Insurance Program in New York. Confirm eligibility and compare its price and benefits against other quotes.
• For valuable vehicles: Include Chubb when repair provisions and total-loss valuation matter as much as premium. Ask whether agreed value coverage and the repair-parts terms you want are available for your vehicle.

How We Chose These Companies

This is an editorial shortlist based on published satisfaction research, New York regulatory resources, and insurers’ stated service channels. It is not a personalized rate survey, and we have not assigned our own numerical scores or tested each company’s claims service firsthand.

Use New York Satisfaction Results

In the 2026 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study, Travelers ranked highest in New York with 657 out of 1,000 points. NYCM led New York in the 2025 study with 652 points.

These studies measure overall customer satisfaction, including price, trust, and service. They are not rankings of the cheapest insurers or guarantees about an individual claim. An insurer’s award in another region also should not be presented as a New York result.

Compare Complaint Ratios, Not Just Complaint Counts

The New York DFS automobile complaint ranking compares upheld complaints relative to premiums written. A lower ratio means fewer upheld complaints relative to the amount of business measured. Raw complaint counts alone can make larger insurers look worse simply because they insure more people.

Check the data year: the 2025 DFS report uses complaints closed in 2024 and average premiums from 2023 and 2024. It lists individual underwriting companies, not just advertising brands. The ranking excludes complaints sent only to insurers, and a few additional complaints can substantially change a small company’s ratio.

The table below adds up each insurer’s companies in the 2025 DFS report, from lowest combined ratio to highest. The ratio is upheld complaints per $1 million of yearly New York auto premiums; across all 128 companies it was 0.0341. The premium share is our own calculation from the DFS figures, not an official market share number. Each company review has the company-by-company breakdown.

Insurer	Upheld Complaints	Combined Ratio	Share of NY Premiums
Mercury	0	0.0000	0.12%
NYCM	4	0.0065	3.3%
Nationwide	2	0.0083	1.3%
GEICO	48	0.0091	28.7%
Preferred Mutual	1	0.0126	0.43%
Utica National	2	0.0205	0.53%
Erie	6	0.0262	1.2%
Allstate	65	0.0285	12.4%
Progressive	62	0.0300	11.2%
Travelers	21	0.0309	3.7%
State Farm	105	0.0345	16.5%
Farmers	11	0.0358	1.7%
Amica	4	0.0411	0.53%
Foremost	2	0.0509	0.21%
Chubb	6	0.0669	0.49%
Safeco	1	0.0914	less than 0.1%
Liberty Mutual	73	0.0963	4.1%
USAA	57	0.1039	3.0%
National General	55	0.1417	2.1%
Kemper	9	0.1632	0.3%
The General	3	0.2314	less than 0.1%

Two things stand out. GEICO, State Farm, Allstate and Progressive together write more than two-thirds of the premiums in the report, and GEICO had the lowest ratio of the four. Smaller insurers can swing a long way on a handful of complaints, so treat a single bad or good year for a small company with some caution.

Verify the Company Behind the Quote

Ask for the insurer’s full legal name and NAIC number, confirm it is authorized in New York, and check its current financial strength rating. Financial strength concerns the ability to meet obligations; it does not measure how easy a particular claim will be.

Brand names can be confusing. The former MetLife Auto & Home business was acquired by Farmers in 2021. And when researching The General, distinguish the agency or brand from the company issuing the policy: its website explains that the agency works with affiliated and unaffiliated partners. Confirm the actual New York offer before adding it to your comparison.

New York Coverage Requirements to Compare

For a typical private passenger car, New York requires liability insurance, basic no-fault coverage, and uninsured motorist protection. The shorthand 25/50/10 does not describe the entire required policy. It leaves out separate death limits, PIP, and uninsured motorist coverage.

Required Coverage	Minimum Limits	What It Addresses
Bodily injury liability	$25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for injuries not resulting in death	Injury liability to other people.
Death liability	$50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident	Liability for injuries resulting in death.
Property damage liability	$10,000 per accident	Damage you are legally responsible for causing to someone else’s vehicle or property.
Basic no-fault / personal injury protection (PIP)	$50,000 per person	Eligible medical expenses, lost earnings, and certain other injury-related economic losses, subject to benefit limits and rules.
Uninsured motorist bodily injury (UM)	$25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident for nonfatal injuries; $50,000 / $100,000 for death	Covered injuries caused by an uninsured driver or qualifying hit-and-run in New York. It does not repair your car.

These limits are supported by the DMV’s liability insurance requirements, DFS coverage guidance, and New York Insurance Law § 3420. See our guide to New York car insurance laws and requirements for more context.

Compare Protection Above the Minimum

• Higher liability limits: Compare the added premium for limits above the minimum. A policy’s legal adequacy does not mean its limits are enough for a serious loss.
• Supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage (SUM): This expands injury protection beyond basic UM, including qualifying underinsured-driver and out-of-state accidents. For newly purchased personal auto policies, New York generally provides SUM matching bodily injury liability limits unless the first named insured signs a waiver declining it or selecting lower limits. Check the actual selection on each quote.
• Additional no-fault protection: Ask about additional PIP and Optional Basic Economic Loss (OBEL), including how their benefit limits differ. Basic PIP does not mean unlimited medical bills or full wage replacement.
• Collision and comprehensive: These address covered damage to your own vehicle. New York does not generally require them by law, but a lender or leasing company commonly does. Compare the deductibles separately.
• Practical add-ons: Compare rental reimbursement limits, glass deductibles, towing, and repair-parts provisions. Confirm which benefits cost extra and which are available on the specific New York policy.

Comprehensive coverage is particularly relevant when evaluating protection against theft, hail, falling objects, and flooding. Our guides explain hurricane damage and car insurance and coverage for natural disasters. PIP pays eligible injury-related losses; it does not pay for storm damage or collision repairs.

How to Compare Quotes and Choose a Policy

1. Gather the same information for every quote. Have your current declarations page, driver information, VINs, annual mileage, and actual garaging address ready. Describe any delivery, rideshare, or business use accurately.
2. Choose the coverage before comparing prices. Write down the liability limits, PIP options, UM/SUM limits, collision and comprehensive deductibles, and add-ons you want. Have each insurer quote that combination.
3. Get quotes through more than one channel. A practical starting point is three to five quotes, including a direct insurer and an agent who can access regional carriers.
4. Compare the full cost for the same period. Check whether each quote covers six or twelve months. Include the down payment, remaining installments, and fees. Doubling a six-month premium is only a comparison estimate; it does not lock in the next renewal’s price.
5. Ask how a claim would work. Find out how to report a loss, contact the adjuster, arrange an inspection, and obtain updates. Review rental limits and what happens if repairs take longer than the covered rental period.
6. Confirm the final offer and effective time. Ask whether the price remains subject to driving-record or other underwriting checks. Make sure coverage is bound and you have proof of insurance before canceling the old policy.

Accurate application details and prompt claim documentation matter regardless of which insurer you choose. Learn about common reasons car insurance claims are denied before you need to file one.

Ways to Save Without Overlooking Coverage

Start with discounts and accurate rating information before reducing the protection you need.

• Use an approved defensive driving course. New York’s Point and Insurance Reduction Program provides a 10% reduction in the applicable base premiums for three years after an eligible principal operator completes an approved course. It applies to liability, no-fault, and collision premiums, not every charge on the bill. Send the completion certificate to your insurer.
• Compare bundled and separate policies. A large advertised discount does not establish the lowest combined cost. Check both arrangements when bundling auto insurance with other policies.
• Review household and vehicle details. Make sure mileage, drivers, garaging location, and eligible student, vehicle-safety, or multi-car discounts are accurate.
• Price deductible changes separately. Ask how much you would actually save by raising a deductible, then decide whether you could comfortably pay the larger amount after a loss.
• Read driving-monitoring terms first. Before enrolling in telematics, ask what data is collected, how it affects the premium, and what happens if you stop participating.
• Review optional vehicle coverage as the car ages. If there is no lender requirement, weigh the premium and deductible against the car’s value and your ability to replace it. Removing collision means accepting the losses that coverage would otherwise address.

Before buying, have the insurer explain any differences between the winning quote and your current policy. The most useful comparison ends with a clear answer to three questions: what will you pay, what protection are you buying, and who will help when you need it?

FAQs on the Best Auto Insurance Companies in New York