The words “affordable” and “insurance” really should not be used together, specifically when shopping around for the best coverage prices for college students. Because it’s so expensive, let’s start off by going over some of the factors that have an impact on insurance prices, and come up with some ideas to cut the cost of the next policy you buy.
Deciphering which insurers offer the cheapest insurance rates for college students involves a little more work in order to find the lowest price. Every car insurance company uses a little different formula to establish rates, so to begin we’ll rank the insurance companies with the most affordable rates in New Jersey.
Keep in mind that Newark insurance rates are calculated based on many things that will increase or decrease the price of coverage. Simply getting older, moving to a different location, or getting a ticket for careless driving can trigger rate changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper in comparison to the competition.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance for College Students
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21st Century | $1,111 |
| 2 | Travelers | $1,145 |
| 3 | New Jersey Manufacturers | $1,310 |
| 4 | Penn National | $1,379 |
| 5 | Palisades | $1,382 |
| 6 | Allstate | $1,493 |
| 7 | California Casualty | $1,495 |
| 8 | The Hartford | $1,521 |
| 9 | USAA | $1,585 |
| 10 | Mercury | $1,603 |
| 11 | Amica | $1,813 |
| 12 | Esurance | $1,838 |
| 13 | Progressive | $1,862 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,932 |
| 15 | State Farm | $2,226 |
| 16 | GEICO | $2,240 |
| 17 | Encompass | $2,374 |
| 18 | Liberty Mutual | $2,978 |
| 19 | Hanover | $3,869 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | ||
21st Century offers some of the best car insurance rates in Newark at around $1,111 annually. This is $741 less than the average price paid by New Jersey drivers of $1,852. Travelers, New Jersey Manufacturers, Penn National, and Palisades also are some of the most economical Newark, NJ car insurance companies.
In this example, if you buy coverage from Travelers and switched to 21st Century, you could earn savings of around $34. New Jersey drivers with New Jersey Manufacturers may save as much as $199 a year, and Penn National customers might lower prices by $268 a year.
It’s important to note that these prices are averages across all types of drivers and the different vehicles they drive and do not take into consideration an exact location for college students. So the insurer that can offer you the best price may not even be in the list above. That affirms the importance of why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own personal information and vehicle type.
One of the many criteria that aid in calculating car insurance rates is where your residence is in Newark. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with less crime or weather claims tend to receive slightly lower rates.
The information below ranks the most expensive cities in New Jersey for college students in which to buy car insurance. Newark makes the list at #1 having an annual price of $2,598 for the average insured, which is around $217 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Newark | $2,598 |
| 2 | West New York | $2,531 |
| 3 | East Orange | $2,495 |
| 4 | Paterson | $2,472 |
| 5 | Elizabeth | $2,470 |
| 6 | Union City | $2,426 |
| 7 | Passaic | $2,371 |
| 8 | Kearny | $2,358 |
| 9 | Jersey City | $2,345 |
| 10 | Clifton | $2,299 |
| 11 | Hoboken | $2,283 |
| 12 | Bayonne | $2,184 |
| 13 | Camden | $2,133 |
| 14 | Fort Lee | $2,123 |
| 15 | Linden | $2,099 |
| 16 | Perth Amboy | $2,081 |
| 17 | Atlantic City | $2,044 |
| 18 | Hackensack | $1,999 |
| 19 | Plainfield | $1,956 |
| 20 | Trenton | $1,896 |
| 21 | Sayreville | $1,882 |
| 22 | New Brunswick | $1,856 |
| 23 | Lakewood | $1,819 |
| 24 | Vineland | $1,788 |
| 25 | Toms River | $1,674 |
| Find Cheaper Insurance Go | ||
Information shown are comparative as specific Newark garaging address can change auto insurance rates noticeably.
The vehicle you are buying coverage for is probably the largest consideration when shopping around for economical car insurance for college students. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, a plethora of safety features, or a positive history of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than fast, unsafe models.
The next list presents auto insurance premiums for some of the most cost-effective automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Insured Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $3,802 |
| Honda CR-V EX 4WD | $3,859 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,157 |
| Ford Edge SE 2WD | $4,205 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $4,261 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $4,267 |
| Ford Explorer XLT 4WD | $4,261 |
| Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4WD 2-Dr | $4,268 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $4,503 |
| Toyota RAV4 2WD | $4,511 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD | $4,503 |
| Toyota Camry LE | $4,509 |
| Dodge Ram 3500 Crew Cab Laramie 2WD | $4,560 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | |
Premium data assumes single female driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and New Jersey minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Rate quotes do not factor in Newark, NJ location which can increase or decrease prices noticeably.
Looking at the rates, we can presume that vehicles like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius, Ford Edge, and Toyota Tacoma are going to be the less-costly vehicles to insure for students in college. The price of auto insurance will tend to be higher because there is more liability exposure for college students, but in general those makes and models will tend to have the cheapest car insurance rates possible.
Full coverage versus liability-only in Newark
Lowering the price of insurance is the goal of most vehicle owners, and one common way to find cheap insurance for college students is to not buy comprehensive and collision coverage. The diagram below illustrates the comparison of car insurance rates with full coverage and liability only. The premiums assume a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are applied.
On average, physical damage insurance costs $3,744 per year more than just buying liability insurance. That is a big expense that brings up the question if physical damage coverage is worth the money. There is no clear-cut formula to exclude comp and collision coverage, but there is a guideline you can use. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than about 10% of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
There are some circumstances where buying only liability insurance is not advised. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you are required to maintain full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if you cannot afford to purchase a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should keep full coverage on your policy.
The illustration below highlights how deductible choice can affect premium costs when quoting cheap insurance for college students. The rate quotes are based on a single male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.
As shown above, a 50-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $396 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $594 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the 20-year-old example, could lower their rates $1,296 each year just by choosing larger deductibles.
If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it will be required to have additional savings on hand to allow you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the primary disadvantage of high deductibles.
If you wish to have some professional guidance when shopping for the best coverage for college students, the agencies below are a good start to help you make a decision which insurance coverage will be best for you.
To locate a Newark car insurance agency using an interactive map, click the button below the list.
- Farmers Insurance – Christine Veliz
229 Bloomfield Ave – Newark, NJ 07104 – (973) 482-1975 - Knight Insurance Consulting Group
454 Washington St – Newark, NJ 07102 – (973) 704-1024 - ESTIR Inc
326 Bloomfield Ave – Newark, NJ 07107 – (973) 481-5300 - International Fidelity Insurance Co
1111 Raymond Blvd – Newark, NJ 07102 – (973) 624-7200 - Halsey Street Agency Inc
199 Halsey St – Newark, NJ 07102 – (973) 621-0955
View more Newark, NJ insurance agencies
Ideas to find low-cost insurance for college students
It’s not impossible to find cheaper rates, and here are some of the recommended thrifty solutions that can help you quote cheap coverage.
- Pay for smaller claims out-of-pocket
- Avoid getting citations and tickets
- Increase deductibles to save money
- On older vehicles, drop full coverage
- Accident-free drivers may qualify for discounts
- Compare rates regularly and switch companies to save money
That final tip is very crucial, as was emphasized in this write-up. Insurance rates in Newark fluctuate constantly, so don’t be afraid to buy a different policy if a cheaper rate is available. Staying with the same company for years is fine, but it’s not a great idea if your bullheadedness ends up costing you lots of hard earned cash every month. It takes less than five minutes to compare rates to find cheaper insurance for college students.