auto insurance buyer's guide for new jersey

Learn What Drives Your Rate

It starts with you. Your rate starts with basic questions about you and others who will drive your car regularly: age, sex, marital status, driving record, and the details about the cars you drive. Why so many questions? Who you are tells an insurer plenty about how you'll drive - and how likely it is you'll have an accident, or not. Plus, many discounts are based on your answers, so the more you share, the more you save.

Before you buy a policy, your company will verify your driving record and claims history. New Jersey law also allows insurers to use a credit-based insurance score as one factor in setting your rates. But, if your credit has been adversely affected by catastrophic illness or injury, death of spouse, divorce or identity theft, insurance companies are required to adjust your insurance score, so that you're not unfairly penalized.

Where You Live Matters

New Jersey is #1. It's the most expensive state in the country for auto insurance. Why? New Jersey also has more mandatory coverages than most states. And, its population density it 13 times the national average. When traffic is heavier, it leads to more accidents and higher insurance costs. By law, urban rates can't be any higher than 35% over the statewide rate average. And, on the plus side, the theft rate in the Northeast is the lowest in the country.