Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for College Students in New Jersey?

The vehicle model to be insured is one of the primary factors that determines the availablility of the most affordable auto insurance for college students. Vehicles with high performance, a lack of modern safety features, or a track record of large liability claims will cost much more to insure than safer, lower-performance models.

The data below shows car insurance rates for the cheaper vehicles to insure in New Jersey.

Data rating is based on single female driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and New Jersey minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Rate information does not factor in your specific New Jersey location which can revise premiums noticeably.

Based upon the rates shown, you can figure that makes and models like the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, and Honda CR-V should be some of the cheaper vehicles to insure for students in college. The price for an auto insurance policy will be more expensive because there is more liability exposure for college students, but generally speaking those particular vehicles will have the cheapest car insurance rates compared to all other vehicles.

One of the many components that establish the cost of insurance is where you normally keep your vehicle in New Jersey. Cities that have higher claim levels or more people like Newark, Elizabeth, and Union City tend to pay more, whereas areas that are not as densely populated tend to receive slightly lower rates.

The illustration below rates the higher priced cities in New Jersey for college students to purchase a policy in.

Price information shown is comparative as the vehicle garaging location can influence prices greatly.

Finding reliable, low-priced car insurance is not most people’s favorite thing to do, and figuring out which company offers the lowest-priced car insurance rates for college students will involve a bit more work. Insurance premiums should be slightly more than the average policy in New Jersey attributed to the added risk related to offering coverage for students in college, but affordable insurance should be possible if you find the right company.

Each insurer has their own unique process to determine premium rates, so let’s take a look at the car insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in New Jersey. It’s important that readers know that New Jersey car insurance rates are impacted by many things that will increase or decrease the price of coverage. This price variation is why drivers need to perform a complete rate comparison to get the best auto insurance rates for college students. Auto insurance prices are impacted by many things and can change without notice, so the best option when you bought your policy may now be quite expensive.

Lowest Insurance Price Quotes for College Students

Click Here to Start Your Quote

21st Century generally has some of the lowest car insurance rates in New Jersey at around $1,100 annually. Travelers, New Jersey Manufacturers, Penn National, and Palisades also qualify as some of the lowest-priced New Jersey auto insurance companies.

In this example, if you are a policyholder with Palisades and switched to Travelers, you might realize a yearly savings of roughly $163. New Jersey drivers with California Casualty could save as much as $290 a year, and The Hartford policyholders might reduce rates by $300 a year.

Understand that those policy rates are averaged for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and are not factoring in a price surcharge for college students. So the car insurance company that fits your situation best may not even be featured in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to get quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.

Does full coverage make sense?

Finding cheap auto insurance for college students in New Jersey should be important to the majority of drivers, and one way to find cheaper insurance is to not pay for full coverage. The diagram below illustrates the difference between premium costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in New Jersey. The premium estimates are based on no accidents or driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are factored in.

On average, full coverage on your policy costs $2,717 per year more than just buying liability only. That raises the question if buying full coverage is a waste of money. There is no definitive formula for excluding physical damage insurance, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s replacement cost is $11,500 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would get paid by your company is $10,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying over $1,050 a year for physical damage coverage, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.

There are some conditions where dropping physical damage coverage is not financially feasible. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you must maintain physical damage coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you cannot afford to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not drop full coverage.

Which car insurance company is best?

When comparing auto insurance for students in college in New Jersey, four companies to definitely compare rates with are Progressive, State Farm, Geico, and Allstate. The following table shows ratings for price and service, as well as some optional coverages you can buy with each company.

How to find cheap auto insurance for college students in New Jersey

The list below shows some penny-pinching ideas that can help you find the cheapest car insurance.

• Avoid at-fault accidents and claims
• Increase your deductibles
• Good credit scores may lower your rates
• Just one traffic violation will increase your rates
• Too many claims can make car insurance unaffordable
• Buy your homeowners policy from the same company as your auto insurance
• Compare quotes from other companies often

The final tip is remarkably valuable, as was discussed in the article above. Coverage rates in New Jersey adjust frequently, so don’t be unwilling to switch carriers if a cheaper price is available.

Having brand loyalty is commendable, but it’s not recommended if that dedication is costing a lot of money. Spend a few minutes and shop around to find cheaper auto insurance for college students.