EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AS OF APRIL 29TH, 2015- The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has adopted rules that authorize insurers to issue electronic I.D. cards AND law enforcement officers must accept them as proof of insurance. Insurers have the option to issue electronic I.D. cards, but only with the insured's consent. Temporary I.D. cards must be in paper form, and certain commercial vehicles must also carry paper cards. Electronic cards must meet the standards that apply to traditional cards. They must be displayable on a variety of electronic devices. For more details on the new rule visit this page with the official New York's DMV Notice of Adoption and go to page 18.
If you're looking for resources and information on auto insurance coverages in New York then you've come to the right place. Not only will this page explain New York car insurance coverage to you, it will help you find the best car insurance rates, carriers, quote comparisons, and even tips to help you save money on your auto insurance. First, let us start with a short story about an accident and how a person's auto insurance coverage responded to the accident and the associated claims for medical costs including pain and suffering.
Many insurance agents will often leave out certain New York auto insurance coverages that are vital to insuring you're properly covered. But how do you know if your auto insurance coverage is right for you? Don't worry! InsuranceTrak doesn't cut any corners when insuring your vehicle. We make sure that you have enough liability, property and medical coverage for your specific situation. Every person and vehicle is not the same so we take extra special care to ensure you get the maximum protection you deserve. Below is a story about a driver that didn't have enough insurance protection and how they ended up on the short end of the stick after a serious accident.
You might be wondering, how do I know if I have the right auto insurance coverage? Let me tell you a story about an accident to help explain what type of car insurance coverage is prudent for peace of mind protection. This story involves a driver getting into an accident with an uninsured motorist. To protect the names of the real people in this example let's use the alias of Sally for the driver who was rear ended and not at fault, and Jimmy for the driver who rear ended Sally and was found to be at fault by a police report conducted at the scene of the accident.
When Sally was hit from behind she sustained serious injuries. She was able to utilize her own auto insurance policy to pay for medical costs because New York is a no fault state. Essentially, this means that almost every insurance policy must provide any drivers or passengers in the insured vehicle medical payments coverage up to $50,000. This coverage is commonly referred to personal injury protection, or PIP. A policyholder can purchase more PIP coverage above and beyond the standard $50K if they so choose. In Sally's case, her policy only afforded her $50,000 of personal injury protection at the time. After she exhausted her PIP coverage, she met with a lawyer about suing Jimmy for pain and suffering and making a claim on Jimmy's policy, but Jimmy was driving uninsured at the time! Even still, Sally decided to sue Jimmy after all and go after his personal assets. After a lengthy court battle, Sally's pain and suffering was valued at about $200,000 by a court of law and a judgement was issued against Jimmy. To Sally's chagrin, Jimmy had no assets so his wages were set to be garnished whenever he got back to work (which wouldn't be anytime soon)! Sally's medical bills went far beyond the $50,000 that she received through her PIP coverage. Sally also did not have health insurance at the time and didn't have a lot of money herself. So how was Sally supposed to pay for all of her bills? She certainly wasn't going to wait around for Jimmy to get a job!
Well, New York has another standard coverage called Supplemental Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Liability (aka SUM coverage). At the time of the accident, Sally's policy only had the minimum required SUM coverage by the state of New York, which is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Basically, this coverage paid out $25,000 to Sally for her pain and suffering (which mainly went to her medical payment costs) but she was still on the short end of the stick for all the medical payment costs she had incurred. Could she have had more of this coverage? How does SUM coverage work?
Supplemental Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists Liability (SUM) coverage is auto insurance coverage that is mandatory on all car insurance policies in New York. The purpose of this coverage is to protect people who are either hit by a vehicle with a driver who has little to no insurance, or involved in a hit and run accident. In the example of Sally and Jimmy, Jimmy had no auto insurance at all. So, the SUM coverage on Sally's policy is there to pay for her pain and suffering in the case that she is unable to collect from Jimmy's insurance.
The ironic thing was that Sally had high bodily injury liability limits of $250k/$500k but they didn't apply in this situation. For just a few dollars more she could have had increased her uninsured/underinsured motorist (SUM) coverage to match her bodily injury liability limits and she would have been able to pay for the cost of all her medical bills with the help of her own insurance carrier!
Let this story serve as a lesson. Whether you have New York car insurance or another state's auto insurance policy we recommend your uninsured/underinsured motorists liability limit is increased to match your bodily injury liability limits if you can. As you can see, it would have been well worth it for Sally!
Believe it or not, there are ways to save money on car insurance without sacrificing coverage. Here are some easy to remember tips:
InsuranceTrak works with all the top insurance companies to find you the cheapest New York auto insurance. But how do you know you're getting a good price? We estimate the average car insurance NY price to be $856 per year. On average we're able to save our customers 22% on their car insurance costs which brings the average down to $665 per year! This doesn't mean you can't save even more or get a lower price but simply illustrates that our customers get the best price in the market of New York car insurance.
Probably the best part about shopping with InsuranceTrak is that you can get online auto insurance quotes in New York right from our website! Simply complete the form at the top of this page to get started. You'll receive instant insurance quotes for auto insurance returned directly to your screen on our website! If you'd rather speak to a human being, no problem. You can call us anytime to get a quote and a local New York insurance agency expert will ensure we shop the best insurance companies to find the best coverage at the cheapest price. We are your source for auto insurance at InsuranceTrak!
There are literally 100s of auto insurance companies in New York. In fact, you can look up a list of these insurance companies right from the DMV website. Finding the right type of insurance company can be tricky. That is where InsuranceTrak comes in to give you sage like guidance and advice so you're comfortable choosing the right insurance company for your needs. Whether you're looking for the most reputable NY auto insurance companies or just trying to find the best car insurance rates, InsuranceTrak will help you find the right company to fit your budget and needs.
InsuranceTrak Services works with the best insurance carriers and we shop for the cheapest NY auto insurance. If you're looking to save money on New York car insurance than you've come to the right place. We shop NY car insurance for you with multiple carriers to ensure you get the best price and coverage combination. We even give you extremely helpful tips to ensure you get cheap auto insurance New York.
Shopping classic car insurance quotes in New York is a cinch with InsuranceTrak. Visit our NY classic car insurance page in the link above for specific information.
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