Is Preferred Mutual Auto Insurance Good for New York Drivers?

Last Updated on October 4, 2026 by James Shaffer

Preferred Mutual is a New York-based regional insurer that has been serving policyholders since 1896. For New York drivers, the company offers the standard auto insurance coverages you would expect, along with discounts, accident forgiveness and an optional Premier Auto Endorsement that bundles several additional protections.

Preferred Mutual may be especially appealing if you prefer working with an independent insurance agent rather than buying coverage entirely on your own. The company also now provides online and mobile account tools for existing customers, making it easier to manage a policy after purchase.

So, is Preferred Mutual a good choice for New York drivers? It is a legitimate company worth comparing, particularly if its discounts and optional coverage fit your needs. Whether it offers the best value, however, depends on the price and coverage you receive in your individual quote.

About Preferred Mutual

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company was founded in 1896 as Preferred Mutual Fire Insurance Company of Chenango County. It remains a mutual insurance company, meaning it is organized for the benefit of its policyholders rather than outside shareholders.

The company is headquartered at One Preferred Way in New Berlin, New York. According to the New York Department of Financial Services company directory, Preferred Mutual Insurance Company is a New York-domiciled insurer with NAIC number 15024.

Preferred Mutual currently operates in New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. In addition to personal auto insurance, the company offers homeowners, renters, business and other property and vehicle-related insurance products.

Company	Preferred Mutual Insurance Company
Founded	1896
Headquarters	New Berlin, New York
NAIC Number	15024
States Served	New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Massachusetts
AM Best Financial Strength Rating	A (Excellent)
Sales Model	Independent insurance agents
Customer and Claims Phone	800-333-7642
Website	PreferredMutual.com

What Auto Insurance Does Preferred Mutual Offer?

Preferred Mutual offers the main types of personal auto insurance New York drivers need, including required auto liability insurance and several optional coverages.

New York has specific car insurance requirements. According to the New York Department of Financial Services, a registered vehicle generally must carry at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability, $10,000 in property damage liability, $50,000 per person in basic no-fault coverage and required uninsured motorist protection.

Those statutory minimums should not automatically be treated as the right amount of insurance for every driver. Higher limits and additional coverage options may provide substantially more financial protection.

Liability Coverage

Liability insurance helps pay covered claims when you are legally responsible for injuring another person or damaging someone else’s property. Preferred Mutual offers liability coverage that can satisfy New York’s mandatory insurance requirements, with higher limits available depending on the policy.

Personal Injury Protection

New York requires basic Personal Injury Protection, commonly called PIP or no-fault insurance. Basic no-fault coverage generally provides up to $50,000 per eligible person for accident-related economic losses such as medical expenses, a portion of lost earnings and certain other reasonable and necessary expenses, subject to New York’s no-fault rules.

Medical Payments Coverage

Preferred Mutual also lists medical payments coverage. In New York, medical payments coverage is different from mandatory no-fault coverage and may apply in circumstances where no-fault does not, or after applicable no-fault benefits have been exhausted. Review the policy carefully to understand when it applies.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Preferred Mutual offers uninsured and underinsured motorist protection. New York requires basic uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage for accidents involving uninsured or hit-and-run vehicles in New York.

Drivers can also obtain broader Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist (SUM) coverage. SUM can provide additional protection when an at-fault driver has inadequate bodily injury liability limits and can extend protection to qualifying accidents outside New York, subject to the policy’s terms and selected limits.

Collision Coverage

Collision coverage can pay to repair or replace your insured vehicle after a covered collision, subject to your deductible and policy terms. Collision is generally optional under New York law, although a lender or leasing company may require it.

Comprehensive Coverage

Comprehensive coverage protects against certain covered losses other than collisions. Preferred Mutual gives examples including theft, windstorms, flooding and collisions with animals.

Towing and Rental Reimbursement

Preferred Mutual also offers additional protection for expenses such as towing and labor and rental reimbursement. These coverages can be useful when a covered loss leaves your vehicle disabled or in a repair shop.

What Is Preferred Mutual’s Premier Auto Endorsement?

One feature that distinguishes Preferred Mutual’s New York auto product is its optional Premier Auto Endorsement. Preferred Mutual currently says the endorsement bundles 15 coverages into one package.

Examples of features Preferred Mutual currently lists as part of the package include:

• Towing coverage
• Rental coverage
• New vehicle replacement coverage
• Original equipment manufacturer, or OEM, parts coverage
• Coverage for certain personal effects, including car seats
• Airbag replacement coverage
• Lock and key replacement
• Emergency service charges
• Full glass coverage

The exact terms, limits, exclusions and remaining features are defined by the endorsement itself. Ask an independent agent for the current New York endorsement and compare its additional premium with the protections you actually need.

What Discounts Does Preferred Mutual Offer?

Preferred Mutual currently advertises several discounts for New York auto policyholders. Eligibility and the amount saved can vary, so ask your agent which discounts are actually reflected in your quote.

Multi-Policy Discount

You may qualify for savings by combining auto insurance with a Preferred Mutual homeowners or mobile homeowners policy.

Multi-Car Discount

Preferred Mutual advertises savings for households that insure more than one vehicle with the company.

Good Student Discount

Full-time high school students and college students who maintain a B average or better may qualify for Preferred Mutual’s Good Student discount.

Student Away at School Discount

Preferred Mutual also advertises a Student Away at School discount for qualifying students who attend school more than 100 miles from home without access to a vehicle.

Defensive Driver Discount

New York drivers who complete an approved defensive driving course may qualify for a premium reduction. Preferred Mutual also advertises a driver’s-training discount for inexperienced drivers who complete an approved training course.

Vehicle Safety Discounts

Preferred Mutual lists discounts for qualifying vehicle safety and security equipment, including airbags, anti-lock brakes, passive restraints and anti-theft devices.

AAA Member Discount

Preferred Mutual currently lists a discount for qualifying AAA members as part of its New York auto insurance program.

Does Preferred Mutual Offer Accident Forgiveness?

Yes. Preferred Mutual currently advertises accident forgiveness as part of its New York auto insurance offerings.

The company says accident forgiveness may help prevent a rate increase following a first at-fault accident. However, that should not be interpreted as a guarantee that your total premium can never change. Rates can change for many reasons, and eligibility and the exact treatment of an accident depend on the policy and Preferred Mutual’s applicable rating rules.

How Much Does Preferred Mutual Auto Insurance Cost?

There is no single Preferred Mutual rate that accurately represents what a New York driver will pay. Auto insurance premiums depend on many individual factors, including your location, drivers, vehicles, coverage limits, deductibles, driving history, applicable discounts and other rating factors permitted under New York law.

The old assumption that a smaller regional insurer will necessarily cost more than a national company is not reliable. A regional insurer can be cheaper for one driver and more expensive for another because each insurer uses its own filed rating methodology.

Preferred Mutual’s website directs shoppers to its network of independent agents. The best way to evaluate its price is to request a Preferred Mutual quote and compare it with several other insurers using the same types of insurance, liability limits, deductibles and optional coverages.

Preferred Mutual’s Complaint Record in New York

New York’s Department of Financial Services ranks auto insurers every year by upheld complaints per $1 million of premiums. A complaint is upheld when DFS agrees the insurer handled something wrong, such as a late no-fault payment or an improper nonrenewal. The 2025 report covers complaints closed in 2024 and ranks 128 companies. Across all of them combined, the ratio was 0.0341.

Company	Rank (of 128)	Upheld Complaints	Complaint Ratio
Preferred Mutual Insurance Company	55	1	0.0126

Preferred Mutual Insurance Company had 1 upheld complaint on about $79 million of yearly New York auto premiums, a ratio of 0.0126. That’s better than the 0.0341 figure for the whole market. In the previous report (complaints closed in 2023), the same company had 3 upheld complaints and a ratio of 0.0489, against 0.0275 for all insurers that year.

Those premiums add up to 0.43% of the private passenger auto premiums counted in the DFS report. That share is our own calculation from the DFS figures, not an official market share number, but it gives a rough sense of how much of the New York market Preferred Mutual insures.

DFS points out that the ranking counts only complaints filed with the department, and that one or two extra upheld complaints can move a smaller insurer a long way. Use it alongside price, coverage and claims service, and match it to the company named on your quote or declarations page.

How Does Preferred Mutual Customer Service Work?

Preferred Mutual sells insurance through independent agents. The company’s website lets you search for an agent by ZIP code or agency name, and that agent can help you choose coverage, make policy changes and understand your insurance.

The agent-focused model may appeal to drivers who prefer having a specific person available to discuss their coverage rather than relying entirely on a call center or website.

However, Preferred Mutual is no longer an entirely offline experience. Existing customers can use the MYPreferred online portal to review their policies, pay bills, report claims and access account information. Preferred Mutual also promotes a MYPreferred mobile app for policy management.

How Do Preferred Mutual Claims Work?

Preferred Mutual offers several ways to report a new insurance claim. According to the company’s current claims information, policyholders can:

• Call Preferred Mutual at 800-333-7642 and follow the prompts to report a claim
• Report a claim through MYPreferred
• Email a first notice of loss to claims.newlosses@preferredmutual.com
• Ask their independent insurance agent to report the claim

The company says new claims can be reported 24 hours a day. After a claim is submitted, a claims representative may request additional documentation or arrange an inspection depending on the type and extent of the loss.

Policyholders can also use MYPreferred to check claim information. This is a significant improvement over older descriptions of Preferred Mutual as an insurer that required customers to handle most policy and claims activity offline.

How Financially Strong Is Preferred Mutual?

Preferred Mutual currently lists an A (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating from AM Best. In August 2025, Preferred Mutual announced that AM Best had reaffirmed its A (Excellent) rating with a stable outlook, along with an “a+” Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating with a stable outlook.

AM Best financial-strength ratings evaluate an insurer’s ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations. They can be useful when evaluating an insurer’s financial condition, but they do not predict how satisfied an individual customer will be with a claim or service experience.

Advantages and Drawbacks to Consider

Preferred Mutual combines some characteristics of a traditional regional insurance company with modern online policy-management tools.

Potential Advantages

• Headquartered in New York and writing insurance in the state for well over a century
• Independent-agent service for customers who want personal assistance
• A (Excellent) Financial Strength Rating from AM Best
• Multiple auto insurance discounts
• Optional Premier Auto Endorsement with 15 bundled coverage features
• Online account management, payments and claim reporting through MYPreferred
• Mobile policy-management option

Potential Drawbacks

• Preferred Mutual operates in only four states, so it does not have the nationwide footprint of the largest insurers
• The shopping experience is centered around independent agents rather than a fully direct-to-consumer purchase process
• Your individual premium cannot be determined from general company information and requires a personalized quote
• Some optional features may increase the premium and may not provide equal value to every driver

Is Preferred Mutual a Good Choice for New York Drivers?

Preferred Mutual is worth considering if you are shopping for car insurance in New York. It is a long-established New York insurer, offers the major auto coverages drivers commonly need, maintains an A (Excellent) financial-strength rating from AM Best and provides several discounts and optional protections.

The Premier Auto Endorsement may also make Preferred Mutual more appealing to drivers who want features such as new vehicle replacement, OEM parts, full glass, towing and rental protection packaged together.

Still, no insurer is automatically the right choice for every driver. Request a Preferred Mutual quote and compare it with other companies using equivalent limits and deductibles. The strongest option for your situation is the one that provides the coverage you need at a competitive price and with a service model you are comfortable using.

FAQs on Preferred Mutual Auto Insurance