Cheapest Auto Insurance for Good Students in New Jersey

The words “affordable” and “insurance” really should not be used together, especially when trying to find the best price on coverage for good students. Because it’s not cheap, let’s familiarize you with a few of the things that determine auto insurance prices, and come up with some ideas to slash the price of your next policy.

When shopping for cheaper insurance for student drivers, one of the many things that help determine auto insurance rates is where you call home. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people like East Orange, Paterson, and West New York are more likely to have higher rates, whereas less populated areas benefit from having to pay less for coverage.

The next table illustrates the priciest cities in New Jersey for good students to purchase a policy in.

Price information shown is estimated as the specific zip code location can raise or lower price quotes greatly.

The vehicle model you are buying coverage for is probably the most important factor in finding the cheapest auto insurance for good students in New Jersey. Vehicles with higher performance characteristics, poor crash test ratings, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than safer models.

The next list features insurance prices for the most affordable vehicles to insure in New Jersey.

Cost estimates assume single male driver age 18, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and New Jersey minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Rates do not factor in specific garaging location which can raise or lower auto insurance rates considerably.

Looking at the rates, we can assume that makes and models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Chevrolet Traverse, and Toyota Prius will be the most economical vehicles to insure for student drivers.

Full coverage rates compared to liability-only

Finding the cheapest auto insurance for good students in New Jersey is important to most people, and an effective way to find cheap insurance is to not buy full coverage. The example below compares yearly insurance costs with and without physical damage coverage. The rate quotes are based on no violations or claims, $100 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

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If all age groups are averaged, physical damage coverage costs $2,745 per year more than just insuring for liability. Many drivers may wonder if buying full coverage is worth the money. There is no exact formula that works best for making the decision to drop physical damage insurance, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than about 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.

Cheap insurance quotes for student drivers

Thanks to technology, there are a lot of ways to quote cheap auto insurance rates in New Jersey, but the most popular are either through an exclusive insurance agent like Auto-Owners or State Farm, an independent agent, or direct either online or via phone. You can use whichever you prefer, but it’s important to understand the differences in how they provide rate quotes.

Independent agents can place your business with multiple companies and can do rate comparisons with each one. These agents can give you a larger rate selection, which can give you a better overall rate comparison. If cheaper coverage is found, an independent agent can move your coverage and you won’t have to switch agencies.

An exlusive, or captive, agency is ‘exlusive’ to one company, two popular examples being Farmers Insurance or State Farm agents. They generally cannot compare other company’s rates, so they really need to provide good service.

If you buy direct, you do not use an agent and instead shop buying direct from a company like Esurance or Progressive. Buying direct can be a good choice for people who have fewer assets and have a decent understanding of the limitations of auto insurance.

So which of those three methods works best for finding the cheapest auto insurance for good students in New Jersey? We’d like to say shopping direct results in the best prices because you bypass the middleman, but in reality, that argument does not hold true. We’d also like to say an independent agency can save the most money because they can quote many companies, but that is not accurate either. In a lot of cases, exclusive agents may have prices that are the cheapest.

Since auto insurance prices are based on many different factors, really the best method to ensure the lowest rates is to get quotes and compare. Smart shoppers will get rate quotes from all three to give yourself plenty of rates to compare. For a list of companies with online discounts, click here to view.

How to find the cheapest auto insurance for good students in New Jersey

It’s not impossible to find cheaper rates, and here are a few money-saving ideas that can help New Jersey drivers get cheap car insurance.

• Increase your deductibles
• Try to remain claim-free
• Increase your credit rating
• Prevent rate increases by staying accident-free
• Serious violations like DUI or careless driving can make car insurance unaffordable
• Save money by insuring your home and auto with the same company
• Shop around once a year for cheaper rates

The last idea is notably necessary, as we hit on in this write-up. Prices charged by companies fluctuate considerably, so don’t be tentative to switch companies if a more affordable rate is found. Brand loyalty is great, but is isn’t recommended if it’s costing you big bucks every year. If you have a few minutes, now is a great time to compare prices to find cheaper auto insurance for good students.