Cheap Car Insurance in Long Island City, NY, Starting at $${AUTO_CHEAPEST_LIABILITY_CITY_NY_LONG-ISLAND-CITY_PRICE_1} (2024)

Home to trademark white-sand beaches and world-famous wineries, Long Island attracts plenty of tourists, along with its millions of full-time residents. The thriving tourist industry leads to busy roads and may contribute to the above-average rates. Drivers on Long Island pay an average of $195 per month for car insurance, which is on par with the New York state average of $152 per month.

Safeco, CSAA, and Midvale Home & Auto offer some of the lowest average rates on Long Island. Here’s how to find the best coverage for you.

Cheapest car insurance companies in Long Island

The best car insurance company for you depends on your budget and specific needs. Several factors affect your rates, including your age, gender, marital status, vehicle choice, and driving record.

The table below highlights three of the best and most affordable car insurance companies on Long Island and which type of driver each insurer suits best. You can also see their average full coverage and liability quotes for all New Yorkers here.

Best insurer for liability-only coverage: CSAA

Best insurer for teen drivers: Safeco

Best insurer for drivers with a DUI: Liberty Mutual

How to get the cheapest car insurance in Long Island

You can use the following strategies to find cheap car insurance on Long Island:

• Choose a safe vehicle. A car with a strong safety record and advanced safety features is often cheaper to insure.

• Raise your deductible. A higher deductible comes with lower monthly premiums, though you’ll have more out-of-pocket expenses in the event of an accident.

• Take advantage of discounts. Most car insurance companies offer discounts for insuring multiple vehicles or bundling car insurance with home or renters insurance from the same company. It’s a good idea to ask your agent about any discounts you may be eligible for.

• Shop around and compare. The best way to find the cheapest rate on car insurance is to compare quotes from multiple companies to find the policy that best matches your needs.

Cheapest liability-only car insurance in Long Island: CSAA

Your liability insurance covers the other driver’s repairs and medical expenses in the event of an accident you cause. Liability-only insurance doesn’t cover your vehicle damage or medical expenses. This can make it an affordable option for people who drive used or lower-value vehicles.

The average rate for liability-only coverage in New York is $141, and the table below shows what you can expect to pay on Long Island.

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Long Island: Safeco

Full-coverage car insurance includes liability insurance, collision coverage, and comprehensive coverage. Collision coverage can pay for your own vehicle’s repairs in the event of a collision with another vehicle or object, like a guardrail. Comprehensive coverage can pay for repairs to your vehicle after a non-collision event, like a fire or severe weather.

The average monthly rate for full-coverage insurance in New York is $163, and you can see quotes offered by leading insurers on Long Island below.

Car insurance requirements in New York

New York drivers must carry a minimum amount of liability insurance to drive legally in the state. New York is also a no-fault state, which means both drivers must file claims for bodily injuries with their own insurance companies after an accident, regardless of who was at fault. Drivers must also carry personal injury protection (PIP), which covers medical expenses, lost wages, and more.

If you’re caught driving without the minimum coverage requirements, you could suffer the suspension of your license and registration.^[5] The table below outlines the minimum insurance requirements necessary to drive legally in New York.

While the table above illustrates the necessary minimum coverage requirements, you can always expand beyond the minimum with additional coverages like the following:

• 

  Collision coverage

  Collision insurance covers damage to your vehicle after a car accident or collision with an object, regardless of fault.

• 

  Comprehensive coverage

  Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your vehicle from a non-collision event, such as fire, severe weather, or vandalism.

• 

  Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage

  Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage pays for your medical bills in the event of an accident with a driver who doesn’t have enough coverage or any insurance at all.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an incident

Speeding tickets, driving under the influence, and at-fault accidents will raise your car insurance costs. Auto insurers see drivers with such incidents on their records as being more likely to file future claims, and they charge higher monthly premiums to offset this risk.

Nearly 87% of New York drivers have a clean driving record, one of the highest rates in the country. But if you’re not among this group, the following sections will show you how different incident types can affect your insurance rates.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket: Safeco and CSAA

About 30% of all fatal auto accidents in New York list speed as a contributing factor.^[6] Auto insurers consider a driver with speeding tickets on their record as a higher risk for future claims. How much your rate increases after a speeding ticket will vary based on your insurer, the severity of the ticket, and the number of total tickets. Progressive, for example, says drivers see a 15% increase on average after speeding.

New Yorkers pay a monthly average of $177 for full-coverage insurance with a ticket on their record. Here, you can see how a ticket affects your quotes from Long Island insurers.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an at-fault accident: Safeco and CSAA

The Institute for Traffic Safety Management & Research tallied 78,047 crashes on Long Island in 2022. In New York, an at-fault accident will stay on your record until three years after the end of the year in which the crash occurred.^[7] How much your rate increases depends on the company you work with.

Full-coverage monthly rates in New York average $185 for drivers with an accident on their record, and the table below shows how such an incident affects your quotes on Long Island.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI: Safeco and CSAA

A DUI is the most severe traffic violation you can receive, and it will stay on your record for 15 years in New York.^[7] Your insurer might not even renew your auto insurance policy after a DUI.

Not surprisingly, then, having a DUI on your record can cause a tremendous swing in your rates. The state monthly average is $217 for people with a DUI on their record.

Cheapest car insurance for seniors: Safeco

Roughly 18% of Long Island residents are older than 65, and while rates generally decrease for these drivers from age 35 and on, they could increase again around age 70. This is because reduced faculties make seniors more likely to be involved in an accident, and their advanced age increases the probability of medical costs if they’re in a crash.

The average monthly rate for New York seniors is $124, and this table shows how coverages break down on Long Island.

Cheapest car insurance for teens: Safeco

Teen drivers pay the highest car insurance rates on average due to their higher rate of serious accidents and increased likelihood to engage in dangerous driving behaviors. Fortunately, young drivers can save on car insurance by staying on their parents’ insurance, purchasing a safe car, and qualifying for a good student discount.

The average monthly rate for New York teens is $274, and this table shows the liability-only and full-coverage quotes available on Long Island.

Long Island car insurance quotes by credit tier

Insurers in the Empire State are allowed to take your credit history into account when determining your car insurance rates. Drivers with excellent or good credit pay lower average rates than drivers with poor credit.

The following chart shows how average rates vary by credit history.

Is car insurance more expensive in Long Island?

The average car insurance rate on Long Island is more than the national average of $160 per month.

Car insurance rates in New York vary by ZIP code, however, and drivers in New York City deal with the most difficult commute in the country — so it’s no wonder New York City’s average rate of$358 is much higher than Long Island’s. Cities with higher property values also have higher rates, on average.

More cities in New York

The average car insurance rate on Long Island is slightly lower than the New York state average of $152 per month. Here’s how Long Island compares to other areas in New York.

Long Island car insurance FAQs

Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.

Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).

Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:

• Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
• Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
• No additional coverage

Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:

• Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
• Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible

Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.

1. Institute for Traffic Safety. "Traffic Safety Statistical Respository."
2. United States Census Bureau. "Commuting Characteristics."
3. CDC. "Teen Drivers and Passengers: Get the Facts."
4. Stop DWI New York. "Stop DWI Information."
5. New York Department of Motor Vehicles. "New York State Insurance Requirements."
6. Trafficsafety.NY. "Speeding."
7. New York DMV. "Driving Records, Abstracts."

A.M. is a Brooklyn-based writer, editor, and content marketing strategist who's worked with major brands in insurance, tech, finance, and healthcare. He also contributes to The Average Joe, a personal finance newsletter that reaches over 250,000 daily readers. Since 2019, he's written for Insurify, breaking down a diverse range of insurance topics into crisp, readable prose.