Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance in Paterson, New Jersey?
Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance in Paterson, New Jersey?
Compare Car Insurance Rates in Paterson, New Jersey
State Farm has the most affordable car insurance rates in Paterson, New Jersey. Drivers pay just $590 annually, on average. Paterson drivers looking for full coverage, however, will likely find their cheapest rates from Geico, which charges $1,971 annually, on average.
Paterson is the third-most populous city in New Jersey, which means rates for minimum coverage auto insurance are higher than average. The statewide average is $812 annually, but Paterson residents pay 46% more — $1,186 per year on average.
Full coverage from Allstate costs Paterson drivers $5,360 more than full coverage from Geico. Shopping around is the best way to avoid overpaying.
Cheapest auto insurance in Paterson: State Farm
State Farm has the cheapest rates for auto insurance in Paterson, charging $49 per month on average for minimum coverage. That's 50% cheaper than the state average, which is $99 per month.
Shoppers looking for minimum coverage should also get a quote from Geico and Progressive. Together, these three insurers have an average premium of $68 per month, saving drivers $31 per month and $368 per year.
Compare Car Insurance Rates in Paterson, New Jersey
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Farm | $590 |
| 2 | Geico | $852 |
| 3 | Progressive | $1,014 |
| 4 | Travelers | $1,159 |
| 5 | NJM | $1,461 |
| 6 | Allstate | $1,506 |
| 7 | Palisades (Plymouth Rock) | $1,722 |
Cheap rates might make minimum coverage sound attractive, but bear in mind that in New Jersey, minimum coverage only pays for the other driver's injuries and property damage, as well as your own injuries. If you get in an accident, your insurer will not cover repairs to your car.
Cheapest full coverage car insurance in Paterson: Geico
Full coverage costs $4,232 per year on average in Paterson, but drivers can save $2,261 by getting a policy from Geico. On average, full coverage from Geico costs $1,971 annually. State Farm and NJM come in second and third, costing $2,468 and $2,687 per year, respectively.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,971 |
| 2 | State Farm | $2,468 |
| 3 | NJM | $2,687 |
| 4 | Progressive | $3,531 |
| 5 | Palisades | $4,988 |
| 6 | Travelers | $6,651 |
| 7 | Allstate | $7,331 |
Full coverage ensures that your own car is protected, both on and off the roads — not just the other driver's car. It adds collision and comprehensive coverage to the liability coverage and personal injury protection (PIP) that New Jersey law requires.
- Comprehensive coverage: Pays for damage resulting from off-road incidents and "acts of God," such as theft, or animal or weather damage.
- Collision coverage: Pays for damage that results from a collision, regardless of who caused the accident.
Cheap car insurance for drivers with prior incidents
Insurers usually raise rates if you have an accident, DUI or speeding ticket on your record.
We identified the cheapest insurer for Paterson drivers who have:
Cheapest car insurance in Paterson after an accident: NJM
Accidents raise rates for full coverage from $4,232 per year to $6,820 per year in Paterson — a 61% increase. NJM is the cheapest insurer for drivers with an at-fault accident. Its annual rate is just $2,687, making it $4,133 cheaper than the city average.
Interestingly, ValuePenguin's analysis found that NJM does not increase rates at all after an at-fault accident, charging drivers with one accident and drivers with a clean record the same rates. This distinguishes it from the other insurers in our study, all of which raise rates after an accident, some by more than double.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NJM | $2,687 |
| 2 | Geico | $2,825 |
| 3 | State Farm | $4,102 |
| 4 | Palisades | $5,477 |
| 5 | Progressive | $5,522 |
| 6 | Travelers | $9,848 |
| 7 | Allstate | $17,279 |
Cheapest car insurance for people with a speeding ticket: Geico
Paterson drivers will pay 13% more on average for auto insurance after a speeding ticket. This makes it the least costly incident in our study; both accidents and DUIs raise rates by 61%.
Drivers in Paterson with a speeding ticket should get quotes from Geico and State Farm. Neither of these insurers raise rates for full coverage after a speeding ticket, and both charge rates lower than the city average — $2,828 and $2,331 less, respectively.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,971 |
| 2 | State Farm | $2,468 |
| 3 | NJM | $3,337 |
| 4 | Progressive | $4,520 |
| 5 | Palisades | $4,988 |
| 6 | Travelers | $7,432 |
| 7 | Allstate | $8,876 |
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI: NJM
NJM has the best rates for drivers with a citation for driving under the influence (DUI) on their record. The average rate after a DUI in Paterson is $6,822 per year, but NJM charges less than half of that: just $3,337 per year for full coverage.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NJM | $3,337 |
| 2 | Progressive | $4,082 |
| 3 | Geico | $4,138 |
| 4 | Palisades | $6,831 |
| 5 | Travelers | $9,061 |
| 6 | State Farm | $9,840 |
| 7 | Allstate | $10,463 |
Cheapest car insurance for married drivers: Geico
Geico has the cheapest insurance for married drivers, according to ValuePenguin's analysis. Its average rate is $2,181 per year for full coverage. That's 47% cheaper than the Paterson city average, which is $4,084 for married drivers.
However, Geico is unusual in that its average rate for married drivers is slightly higher than its rate for single drivers. Most insurers lower rates for married drivers; in fact, in Paterson, auto insurance costs $149 less per year for married drivers than it does for single drivers.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $2,181 |
| 2 | State Farm | $2,468 |
| 3 | NJM | $2,526 |
| 4 | Progressive | $3,101 |
| 5 | Palisades | $4,700 |
| 6 | Travelers | $6,675 |
| 7 | Allstate | $6,934 |
Cheapest car insurance for young drivers: Geico
Rates for young drivers in Paterson, New Jersey, underscore the importance of getting multiple quotes. Palisades, the most expensive insurer, is over four times more expensive than Geico, the cheapest insurer. The average rate from Geico is $4,447 per year for full coverage — 63% cheaper than the city average.
Insurance companies view young drivers as riskier to insure than adult drivers. Our sample 18-year-old driver in Paterson paid $12,104 per year on average. That's 186% more than the average rate paid by our 30-year-old sample Paterson driver.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $4,447 |
| 2 | NJM | $5,514 |
| 3 | State Farm | $8,238 |
| 4 | Travelers | $14,487 |
| 5 | Progressive | $14,856 |
| 6 | Allstate | $15,202 |
| 7 | Palisades | $21,985 |
To keep rates low, young drivers should ask their insurer about discounts, such as good student and student-away-from-home discounts. Another option is to stay on your parents' insurance, if possible. ValuePenguin found that it costs half as much for a teen to stay on their parents' policy as it does for them to take out their own policy.
Best auto insurance companies in Paterson, New Jersey
ValuePenguin surveyed policyholders on their satisfaction with their auto insurer, and of the companies in this study, State Farm, Allstate and Progressive had the highest numbers of customers saying they were "extremely satisfied" with their most recent claim.
To learn more about each auto insurer, check out ValuePenguin's study of the best cheap auto insurance in New Jersey.
Auto theft statistics in Paterson
In 2019, Paterson was not only the third-most populous city in New Jersey, but it also had the third-highest rate of auto theft. Our analysis of 2019 FBI crime data showed that about 3 cars were stolen for every 1,000 residents.
Rank | City | Population | Car thefts | Thefts per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elizabeth | 128,753 | 757 | 5.9 |
| 2 | Newark | 281,422 | 1,541 | 5.5 |
| 3 | Paterson | 144,866 | 456 | 3.1 |
| 4 | Jersey City | 266,508 | 670 | 2.5 |
| 5 | Clifton | 85,021 | 111 | 1.3 |
| 6 | Hamilton Township, Mercer County | 87,027 | 106 | 1.2 |
| 7 | Woodbridge Township | 100,125 | 99 | 1.0 |
| 8 | Edison Township | 100,282 | 90 | 0.9 |
| 9 | Toms River Township | 93,836 | 42 | 0.4 |
| 10 | Lakewood Township | 105,403 | 37 | 0.4 |
Motor vehicle theft data was pulled from the FBI 2019 New Jersey crime report.
Methodology
Unless otherwise noted, our sample driver was a 30-year-old man with full coverage. He drives a 2015 Honda Civic EX that he owns. We used the following coverage limits for a full coverage policy:
Coverage type | Study limits |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Personal injury protection | $10,000 |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Comprehensive and collision | $500 deductible |
This ValuePenguin analysis used rate data from Quadrant Information Services. Rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings. Your own quotes may be different, so use these rates for comparative purposes only.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.