How Much Does Car Insurance Cost for Drivers with a Bad Driving Record in New Jersey?

Finding out which companies offer the best auto insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record requires a bit more effort in order to find coverage that fits your buget.

Every auto insurer uses different criteria to set their prices, so we need to take a look at the lowest cost auto insurance companies in New Jersey.

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21st Century may have some of the best car insurance rates in New Jersey at around $1,078 per year. Travelers, New Jersey Manufacturers, Penn National, and Palisades also make the cut as some of the most economical New Jersey auto insurance companies.

As shown in the table above, if you buy coverage from Penn National and switched to Travelers, you could realize annual savings of around $134. New Jersey drivers with Palisades could save as much as $163 a year, and California Casualty insureds might cut rates by $260 a year.

To discover how much you can save, click here to start your custom quote or quote rates from the companies below.

Understand that those estimates are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a rate surcharge for drivers with a bad driving record. So the insurer that can offer you the lowest price may not even be included in the above rate chart. That’s why you need to compare rates from as many companies as possible using your own personal information and vehicle type.

The vehicle on the policy is one of the biggest factors when shopping for cheap car insurance for drivers with a bad driving record in New Jersey. Vehicles with higher performance characteristics, a lack of safety features, or an increased likelihood of liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than more economical and safe models.

The tables below outlines auto insurance prices for a selection of the most budget-friendly automobiles to buy coverage for.

Data assumes married female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and New Jersey minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and homeowner. Rate quotes do not factor in specific zip code location which can lower or raise auto insurance rates substantially.

Data variables include married female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and New Jersey minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Rate quotes do not factor in specific location which can decrease or increase coverage rates substantially.

Premium data assumes married female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and New Jersey minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Rate quotes do not factor in specific location information which can alter premiums significantly.

Liability only or full coverage

Finding cheap car insurance for drivers with a bad driving record in New Jersey should be important to most drivers, and an easy way to lower the cost of insurance is to buy only liability coverage. The diagram below illustrates the difference between car insurance rates with full coverage compared to only the New Jersey minimum liability coverage. The rates are based on no claims or driving violations, $250 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are factored in.

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If we average all the age groups together, full coverage costs an additional $3,363 per year over and above liability coverage. That is a big expense that brings up the question if full coverage is worth the money. There is no specific rule that works best for making the decision to drop physical damage insurance, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is more than about 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.

For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s replacement cost is $5,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, you would only receive $4,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying more than $450 a year to have full coverage, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.

There are some situations where dropping physical damage coverage is not recommended. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should maintain full coverage.

How accidents and tickets impact rates

The obvious way to enjoy low auto insurance prices in New Jersey for bad drivers is to drive cautiously and avoid accidents and keep your driving record clean. The illustration below demonstrates how speeding tickets and fender-benders drive up car insurance costs for different insured age categories. The prices are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawVioqcibChart);function drawVioqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘No Violations or Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and No Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and Two Accidents’],[‘Age 20’, 2953,3213,5649],[‘Age 30’, 1525,1783,4221],[‘Age 40’, 1487,1745,4183],[‘Age 50’, 1365,1623,4063],[‘Age 60’, 1341,1599,4039],[‘Age 70’, 1579,1839,4277]]);var options = {title: ‘Effect of Violations and Accidents on New Jersey Car Insurance Prices’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’, fontSize: 17, bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 600,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},colors:[‘#b2da64′,’#eed355′,’#e39e71’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in New Jersey’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);formatter.format(data,3);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibvio’));chart.draw(data, options);}

In the prior example, the average cost of car insurance per year with no accidents or violations is $1,708. Get written up for one speeding ticket and the average cost hikes up to $1,967, an increase of $259 each year. Then add in two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of auto insurance for drivers with a bad driving record increases to an average of $4,405. That’s an increase of $2,697, or $225 per month, just for not paying attention while driving!

How to get cheap car insurance for drivers with a bad driving record in New Jersey

Below you’ll find many thrifty suggestions that can help drivers get the cheapest auto insurance.

• Buying home and auto together can help save money
• Staying accident-free helps keep rates low
• Avoid price increases by not filing claims
• Do not get tickets
• Vehicles with good safety ratings are usually cheaper to insure
• Do not pay for comprehensive and collision coverage on older vehicles
• Shop around for cheaper prices

The last tip in the list is certainly valuable, as we discussed in this piece. Prices charged by auto insurers in New Jersey adjust often, so don’t be afraid to change insurance companies if you find a better deal. Having a favorite company is great, but is isn’t recommended if that faithfulness ends up costing you hundreds every year. It only take a few minutes to compare prices to find cheaper auto insurance for drivers with a bad driving record.