The Bronx Auto Insurance
Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by James Shaffer
A car registered in the Bronx needs the same insurance as any car in New York. The minimums are $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability, $50,000 and $100,000 in death liability, $10,000 in property damage liability, $50,000 in no-fault coverage, and $25,000/$50,000 in uninsured motorist coverage, all from an insurer licensed in the state.
The harder part is keeping that coverage in place without a gap. The DMV hears about a lapse directly from your insurer, and the penalties grow the longer it lasts. Below you’ll find those rules, the Bronx DMV office’s new address, the coverage choices worth pricing, and a list of Bronx agencies checked in September 2026.
At a Glance
- New DMV address: The Bronx District Office moved from East Fordham Road to 610 Exterior Street in the Bronx Terminal Market in 2025. It also houses the Bronx Traffic Violations Bureau.
- Parked cars need insurance too: Coverage must stay active for the whole registration period, even if the car isn’t driven. If you stop using it, surrender the plates before the policy ends.
- Cost of a lapse: Gaps of up to 90 days carry a civil penalty of $8 to $12 per day. After 90 days you must surrender your plates, and your license is suspended for as long as the lapse lasted.
- Theft: The Bronx had 4,610 reported vehicle thefts in 2024, the second-highest count of any county in the state. A stolen car is covered only under comprehensive.
What New York Requires on a Bronx Policy
| Coverage Type | Required Minimum |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident |
| Death liability | $50,000 per person / $100,000 for two or more people |
| Property damage liability | $10,000 per crash |
| No-fault (personal injury protection) | $50,000 per person |
| Uninsured motorist | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident |
Two details on the DMV’s requirements page catch people out. The DMV doesn’t accept out-of-state insurance, so the policy has to be issued by a company licensed in New York, and the name on the policy has to match the name on the registration or the DMV may suspend both your license and registration.
Liability pays others when you’re at fault. No-fault pays medical bills and some lost income for people hurt in the crash regardless of fault, and uninsured motorist coverage pays for your injuries when an uninsured driver causes the accident. None of these repair your own car. Our overview of New York insurance requirements explains the rest of the statewide rules.
Keeping Coverage Continuous
Plenty of Bronx residents get to work without a car. A State Comptroller report on the South Bronx found that 56.1 percent of workers across the borough used public transportation in 2021. If you own a car you rarely drive, the rule still applies: the insurance has to stay active as long as the car is registered.
Insurers report new policies and cancellations to the DMV electronically, so a lapse shows up without any action on your part. From there, the DMV can suspend both the car’s registration and your license. According to the DMV’s insurance lapse rules, what happens next depends on how long you went without coverage:
| Days Without Coverage | Consequence |
|---|---|
| 1–30 | $8 civil penalty per day |
| 31–60 | $10 civil penalty per day |
| 61–90 | $12 civil penalty per day |
| 91 or more | Penalty can’t be paid; plates and registration must be surrendered, and your license is suspended for the same length of time |
When a lapse runs past 90 days, reinstating the suspended license takes a $50 suspension termination fee. Driving an uninsured car can also lead to revocation of your license and registration, and restoring a revoked license takes a $750 civil penalty. You can pay a lapse penalty online, by mail, or at a DMV office.
Selling the Car or Letting It Sit
The order of steps matters. If you won’t be replacing the insurance, turn in your plates to the DMV first and let the policy end afterward. The DMV’s page on changing or canceling coverage says to surrender plates before the lapse, and when you move out of state the plates and registration go back before the New York liability insurance is canceled. Our guides on canceling car insurance in New York and refunds of unused premiums have more detail.
Quick tip: Unsure whether the DMV shows your car as insured? The DMV insurance status lookup tells you what your insurer has reported. Check it after you switch companies or renew.
Answering a DMV Insurance Letter
- Read the letter or order carefully and answer it quickly. The DMV’s guide to responding to insurance letters and orders also says to contact your insurance company immediately.
- If you were covered, ask your insurer to confirm the coverage with the DMV, and follow the DMV’s proof of insurance instructions. Proof goes in online or by mail, not by phone or at a DMV office.
- If you sold the car, the DMV accepts proof of the sale.
- If you had no insurance, the DMV says to surrender the registration and plates right away. For insurance while your license is suspended, see our article on getting insurance with a suspended license.
Proof of Insurance and the Bronx DMV Office
Your insurer gives you two paper New York State Insurance ID Cards or electronic access to them. The card is needed to register a car, and the DMV gives you 180 days from its effective date to do it. A handful of policy types, dealer and all-owned-vehicle policies among them, can’t use the electronic version.
If you last visited the DMV on Fordham Road, the office has moved. The DMV closed the East Fordham Road office in September 2025 and moved the Bronx District Office to 610 Exterior Street, Suite B3-02, Bronx, NY 10451, in the Bronx Terminal Market. The Bronx Traffic Violations Bureau, which hears non-criminal traffic tickets, shares the address.
Reservations are strongly encouraged, and on crowded days the DMV lets in only people holding one. Use the office locator to book or to find another location.
Optional Coverage Worth Pricing
Comprehensive and Collision
The Division of Criminal Justice Services’ 2024 motor vehicle theft report counted 4,610 vehicle thefts in the Bronx that year, down 16% from 5,513 in 2023 but still second only to Queens. Comprehensive covers theft, and DFS lists fire, flood, vandalism, glass breakage, and animal strikes among its other covered causes. Collision pays for damage from crashing into another vehicle or object, whoever caused it.
Both are optional unless a lender requires them. Adding either one means New York requires a free inspection and photos of the car first, with brand-new vehicles usually exempt, and physical damage coverage is suspended while the car remains uninspected.
SUM for Trips Outside New York
The Bronx borders Westchester County, and I-95 carries on from the borough through Westchester into Connecticut. The uninsured motorist coverage every New York policy includes doesn’t cover accidents in other states. Supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage does, and it also pays when the at-fault driver’s insurance is too small to cover your injuries, according to the DFS guide to optional coverages.
SUM limits can’t exceed your own bodily injury liability limits, so ask for quotes that raise the two together. Anything you recover from the other driver’s auto insurer is subtracted from what SUM pays.
Lowering Costs and Finding Coverage
Rates in the Bronx vary by company, since each insurer files its own rating territories to match its claim costs. The car matters too: DFS publishes rating symbols by vehicle that insurers use to price collision and comprehensive.
- A DMV-approved PIRP course knocks 10% off liability and collision premiums every year for three years, and you can repeat it every 36 months.
- Choose deductibles you could cover after a claim; a higher one lowers the premium.
- Get quotes with identical limits and deductibles from several insurers, and check each company’s record in the DFS complaint ranking.
Our tips for lowering car insurance costs go into more detail. If you’ve been turned down by several companies, the New York Automobile Insurance Plan assigns you to an insurer, which DFS says must keep you for three years. Plan coverage usually costs more, and you’re free to move to a regular policy whenever one is offered.
For company-by-company detail, see our New York reviews of Allstate, Amica, Erie, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, Travelers, and USAA.
Bronx Insurance Agencies
Each office below sells auto insurance in the Bronx. In September 2026 we matched its address and phone number to its own website or an insurer’s agent directory; we haven’t rated any of them. Agencies marked as selling multiple insurers can compare several companies in one conversation.
| Agency | Address | Phone | Sells |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morea Agency | 2964 Middletown Rd, 10461 | (718) 824-9698 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| AZBY Brokerage | 1751 Crosby Ave, 10461 | (718) 828-4505 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| BKB Insurance Agency | 981 Morris Park Ave, 2nd Fl, 10462 | (718) 892-1000 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| East Coast Motor Club | 2319 Westchester Ave, 10462 | (718) 863-2525 | Multiple insurers |
| Joy Washington | 1946 Williamsbridge Rd, 10461 | (718) 239-3514 | State Farm |
| Ardit Bita | 709 Lydig Ave, 10462 | (718) 684-6966 | State Farm |
| Traci Menes | 4734 White Plains Rd, 10470 | (718) 325-0100 | State Farm |
| Richard Nastasi | 5637 Mosholu Ave, 10471 | (718) 884-6040 | Allstate |
A useful first question for any of them: which company would actually issue the policy? That’s the name to look up in the DFS complaint ranking.
Car insurance guides for nearby places: Manhattan, Yonkers, Mount Vernon and New York City. For every city and borough we cover, see New York car insurance by city.