White Plains Auto Insurance
Last Updated on September 29, 2026 by James Shaffer
A car registered in White Plains needs a policy from a New York-licensed insurer with at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in bodily injury liability ($50,000 and $100,000 if someone is killed), $10,000 in property damage liability, $50,000 in no-fault benefits, and $25,000/$50,000 in uninsured motorist coverage.
None of those coverages repairs or replaces your own car. That gap showed up in White Plains in December 2024, when the city’s Department of Public Safety reported a run of Honda CR-V thefts from municipal parking lots. Theft is paid only under comprehensive coverage. This page covers the required coverage, what to do after a crash, comprehensive and flood damage, the DMV office at 1 Maple Ave, lapse penalties, and White Plains agencies checked in September 2026.
At a Glance
- Required Minimums: $25,000/$50,000 for injuries you cause, $50,000/$100,000 if someone dies, and $10,000 for property damage, plus $50,000 of no-fault and $25,000/$50,000 of uninsured motorist coverage, all from a New York-licensed insurer.
- Stolen Cars: Theft of a car or its parts is covered only under comprehensive. DFS says that coverage also pays a per-day amount, set in the policy, for transportation if the car is stolen.
- Crash Reports: A crash with an injury, a death, or more than $1,000 in damage to any one person’s property has to be reported to the DMV, and the MV-104 form says to do so within 10 days. The no-fault notice deadline is 30 days.
- Coverage Lapses: A gap in liability coverage can lead the DMV to suspend the registration and license. The civil penalty is $8 to $12 for each day of a gap up to 90 days, and past that point the plates have to be surrendered.
- Required Coverage for a White Plains Registration
- What to Do After a Crash
- Theft, Flood and Damage to Your Own Car
- Where White Plains Premiums Come From
- Weighing Quotes from Different Insurers
- White Plains Insurance Agencies
- The White Plains DMV Office and Coverage Lapses
- FAQs on White Plains Car Insurance
Required Coverage for a White Plains Registration
The state sets the same minimums in every county, so White Plains drivers start with the table below. Keep the policy in force for the whole registration period, including any stretch when the car sits unused, and make sure the name on the policy matches the name on the registration. The DMV says a mismatch can lead to a suspended license and registration.
| Coverage | New York Minimum |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident |
| Liability when someone is killed | $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $10,000 per accident |
| No-fault (personal injury protection) | $50,000 per person |
| Uninsured motorist (UM) | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident |
The DMV insurance requirements page is the official reference, and it states that the DMV does not accept out-of-state insurance. Rules that reach beyond White Plains are in our guide to insurance laws and requirements in New York.
What to Do After a Crash
Several deadlines start on the day of the accident, and they come from three places: the police, the DMV and your insurer.
- If anyone is hurt or killed, notify the police right away. The DMV says this is a legal requirement and is separate from the crash report.
- Send your insurer written notice of a no-fault claim within 30 days of the accident, as the DFS no-fault FAQ describes.
- File a motorist crash report with the DMV, online or on the MV-104 form, if anyone was injured or killed or if damage to any one person’s property, including yours, is over $1,000. The form says to file within 10 days, and the DMV says it may suspend your driving privilege until a report is on file.
- Turn in medical bills and lost-wage claims on time. DFS sets separate limits of 45 days for medical bills and 90 days for lost wages, and a late submission needs a clear and reasonable justification.
What No-Fault Pays
No-fault, formally personal injury protection, is paid by your own insurer whoever caused the crash. DFS’s no-fault cover letter describes the basic benefit as up to $50,000 per person, covering necessary medical and hospital bills at fee-schedule rates, 80% of lost earnings up to $2,000 a month for up to three years, and up to $25 a day for one year in other reasonable and necessary expenses. DFS also lists a $2,000 death benefit that is separate from the $50,000.
DFS adds that someone whose injury meets the “serious injury” definition in Section 5102(d) of the Insurance Law may sue the driver who caused the crash. No-fault does not pay to fix your car.
Theft, Flood and Damage to Your Own Car
Liability, no-fault and uninsured motorist coverage deal with other people or with injuries. Damage to your own car falls to two optional coverages that DFS describes on its optional auto coverage page. Collision pays for a crash with another car or an object, and for a rollover, whoever is at fault. Comprehensive pays for other causes, including theft of the car or its parts, fire, flood, windstorm, glass breakage, vandalism, and hitting or being hit by an animal.
New York requires neither, though a lender or leasing company may on a financed or leased car. Our guide to full coverage car insurance in New York covers how collision and comprehensive combine with the required coverages.
Cars Left in Municipal Lots
On December 20, 2024, the White Plains Department of Public Safety reported thefts of 2024 and 2025 Honda CR-Vs over the previous two weeks. According to the department, the thefts happened after owners parked in municipal lots during the morning commute, and the thieves got in without setting off alarms and may have used a reprogramming tool to make new key fobs. It suggested that owners of these Hondas sign up for the manufacturer’s GPS tracking service, put a tracking tag in the car, and report suspicious activity.
The state’s index crime data list 30 motor vehicle thefts reported to White Plains police in 2023 and 29 in 2024, a modest number for a city the Census Bureau estimates at about 63,000 people. Even so, a stolen car is the owner’s loss unless the policy includes comprehensive. DFS says that coverage also provides a per-day amount, specified in the policy, for transportation expenses if the car is stolen, so find that figure in your policy before you need it.
If a car is stolen, report it to the police and to your insurer as soon as you find it missing.
Flood-Prone Roads and Ramps
Comprehensive also pays for flood damage. The White Plains section of the county’s 2021 hazard mitigation plan lists several road locations as flood-prone: Bloomingdale Road at the I-287 exit ramps, the Bronx River Parkway near the Main Street bridge, part of Central Westchester Parkway, and low-lying spots on Cloverdale Avenue, Smith Avenue near Longview Avenue, and Haarlem Avenue near Glenn Street. The plan also records Tropical Storm Isaias on August 4, 2020, and the remnants of Hurricane Ida on September 1, 2021, among the storms that damaged the city.
Quick tip: When a new policy includes collision or comprehensive, DFS says the insurer must inspect and photograph the car, usually waiving this for a brand-new vehicle, and that physical damage coverage is suspended until the car has been inspected. The inspection costs you nothing, so get it done in the first days of the policy.
Where White Plains Premiums Come From
A published average can’t tell you what you’ll pay, because the price depends on your details and on the company. DFS explains that New York is divided into rating territories and that each insurer files its own territories to reflect differences in claim costs. That is one reason the same driver and car can get different prices from different companies.
For collision and comprehensive, the vehicle matters a great deal. DFS says those premiums reflect the car’s price, repair cost, theft record and how easily it is damaged, and it publishes a table of rating symbols by vehicle. Higher symbols mean higher premiums, so check the model before you buy it. More ways to trim a bill are in our tips for lowering car insurance costs in New York.
Weighing Quotes from Different Insurers
Quotes are only comparable when every company prices the same liability limits, SUM limits and deductibles. Then look up the company named on each quote in the DFS auto insurance complaint ranking, which ranks insurers by the complaints DFS upheld relative to their New York premiums over two years. It counts only complaints sent to DFS, large groups file under more than one company name, and a small insurer can move a long way on one or two complaints.
Each of these insurers has a NYMI review written for New York drivers: Allstate, Amica, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, New York Central Mutual (NYCM), Progressive, State Farm, Travelers, and USAA.
White Plains Insurance Agencies
An independent agency can quote several insurers, while an agent tied to one company sells that company’s policies. Each address and phone number below was checked in September 2026 against the agency’s own website or an insurer’s agent directory. NYMI hasn’t rated these offices. Agencies in other cities are listed in our New York car insurance guides by city.
| Agency | Address | Phone | Sells |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mike O’Boyle | 235 Mamaroneck Ave, Ground Floor, 10605 | (914) 948-3500 | State Farm |
| Brian Wallach Agency | 1 N Broadway, Ste 406, 10601 | (914) 949-0000 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| Scavone Insurance Agency Center | 470 Mamaroneck Ave, Ste 205, 10605 | (914) 428-7111 | Multiple insurers |
| William E. Morrell, Inc. | 128 Court St, 10601 | (800) 942-0904 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| Paolillo Insurance Agency | 211 Central Ave, 10606 | (914) 682-7966 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| Buchanan Insurance Agency | 11 Virginia Rd, North White Plains 10603 | (914) 946-1479 | Multiple insurers (independent) |
| Theiss Agency | 600 N Broadway, Ste 224, 10603 | (914) 948-2144 | Multiple insurers |
| BFL Insurance Group | 199 Main St, Ste 200, 10601 | (914) 609-9190 | Allstate |
Theiss Agency is listed in Nationwide’s agent directory, and its Companies We Represent page also names Progressive, National General and others. Scavone’s site lists the carriers it works with. Either way, ask which company would issue your policy.
The White Plains DMV Office and Coverage Lapses
The DMV’s White Plains office is at 1 Maple Ave, White Plains, NY 10605. Its listed services include registering a vehicle and getting plates, restoring a revoked or suspended license, exchanging an out-of-state license, and taking permit tests. A February 2023 DMV news release put the office in The Source at White Plains shopping complex and said it replaced a temporary office in Tarrytown, used after the old office at the White Plains Mall closed.
Book ahead if you can. The DMV’s office locator page strongly encourages reservations and warns that on days with long waits, people without one won’t be let in.
What a Lapse Costs
The DMV learns of a gap in liability coverage from your insurer’s electronic reports, and it can respond by suspending the registration and the license. When the gap was 90 days or less, the civil penalty is charged per day:
| Length of Lapse | What the DMV Requires |
|---|---|
| 1 to 30 days | $8 per day |
| 31 to 60 days | $10 per day |
| 61 to 90 days | $12 per day |
| More than 90 days | No penalty option; plates and registration are surrendered and the license is suspended for the same period |
Lifting that suspension involves a $50 suspension termination fee. A license revoked for driving an uninsured vehicle needs a $750 civil penalty before it can be restored. Full details are on the DMV’s insurance lapse page. If your license is already suspended, see our article on insurance with a suspended license in New York.
An Insurance Letter from the DMV
Start with the DMV’s insurance status lookup to see what the DMV has on file. The DMV’s advice on insurance letters and orders is to read the letter carefully, answer it quickly and contact your insurer immediately. If you were insured the whole time, that page says to ask your insurance company, not your agent or broker, to file an electronic notice of coverage with the DMV. If a suspension has already been issued, the proof of insurance page explains how to send your insurance ID card online or by mail.
If the car has no insurance at all, the letters page says to surrender the registration and plates immediately. Planning to let a policy end without replacing it? Turn in the plates first, as the DMV explains on its page about changing, reinstating or canceling coverage.
Car insurance guides for nearby places: Scarsdale, Harrison, Port Chester and Ossining.