New York Car Insurance Rates and How They Are Set

New York car insurance rates are set by each insurance company and filed with the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS). Today, insurers may make no more than two overall average private passenger auto rate increases without DFS's prior approval, as long as their cumulative effect stays within 5% ¹. That changes on November 27, 2026: under reforms in the state's Fiscal Year 2027 Budget and a regulation DFS proposed in September 2026, insurers must seek express prior approval from DFS before any upward private passenger auto rate change ¹.

New York is also a no-fault state. Every policy must carry liability coverage and $50,000 of no-fault personal injury protection, and the minimum limits are set out below with links to the state's own pages ⁵. If a New York renewal went up and the reason is unclear, our guide to why car insurance goes up covers the personal factors that can move a bill.

New York's rate law has two parts for private passenger auto. As a general rule, Insurance Law section 2305(b) requires the Superintendent's prior approval of rate filings for policies covering vehicles used mainly for nonbusiness purposes, while section 2350 allows "flexible rating" for changes inside a 5% band; a DFS legal opinion from January 16, 2009 says any rate change beyond the band requires prior approval ³.

Section 2350 as it reads until November 27, 2026 allows overall rate level increases or decreases of up to five percent from the insurer's rates in effect without prior approval, with no more than two rate increases in a twelve-month period ². The New York State Senate's copy of the law also shows a revised version that takes effect November 27, 2026. In that version, only overall average rate decreases of up to five percent below the insurer's current rates may take effect without prior approval, and the section is marked for repeal on May 27, 2030 ².

DFS described the shift in two releases. On July 1, 2026, it issued guidance to carry out the auto insurance reforms in the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, including the requirement that companies seek express prior approval from DFS before raising rates ⁴. That guidance, Circular Letter C3-2026-01, told insurers to update their pricing models to reflect the reforms in all pending and future rate filings ⁴.

On September 9, 2026, DFS proposed a regulation to put the filing change into practice. It requires express prior approval before any upward rate change, and it requires insurers to notify policyholders about rate decreases taken without prior approval under the budget reforms and to explain why the changes are happening ¹. DFS said a 60-day public comment period begins when the proposal is published in the State Register, and that the law and regulation take effect on November 27, 2026 ¹. Because the regulation was a proposal when we checked, DFS is the place to confirm its final form.

The same budget, as DFS summarized it, also changed rules on the claims side that feed into pricing: prosecutors can seek criminal penalties against people who organize or facilitate staged accidents, damages are capped for drivers engaged in criminal behavior at the time of an accident, including uninsured and drunk drivers, damages for pain and suffering or emotional distress are reserved for people who can objectively show a serious injury, and drivers found primarily responsible for causing an accident can no longer sue other parties for what DFS called outsized damage payments ⁴. Whether and how much these reforms change any one insurer's rates will show up in its filings. Our explainer on what a rate filing is covers what a filing usually contains.

DFS says New York State law requires motorists to carry at least $25,000 for bodily injury to one person, $50,000 for bodily injury to all persons and $10,000 for property damage in any one accident, and that mandatory "no-fault" coverage of $50,000 is also required ⁵. The law also requires every auto policy to include uninsured motorists coverage for bodily injury, subject to the same minimums ⁵. Supplementary uninsured/underinsured motorists coverage can be bought up to the policy's own bodily injury limits ⁵. Our explainer on uninsured motorist coverage covers how these coverages work.

The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles lists the same liability amounts and adds the limits for death: $50,000 for one person and $100,000 for two or more people in a crash ⁶. The DMV says coverage must remain in effect while the registration is valid, even if the vehicle is not used, that it does not accept out-of-state insurance, and that it can suspend the registration and driver license if coverage is not maintained ⁶. Our guides to what happens if car insurance lapses and car insurance when you move to another state cover those situations in more detail.

No-fault coverage pays certain losses for people hurt in a crash regardless of who caused it, up to the "basic economic loss" defined in Insurance Law section 5102. The statute sets that at up to $50,000 per person, including lost earnings of up to $2,000 per month for not more than three years and other reasonable and necessary expenses of up to $25 per day for not more than one year ⁷. Many motorists carry higher liability limits and additional personal injury protection than the minimum ⁵, and our page on the price gap between minimum and full coverage explains how those choices change a premium.

A rate change in a filing is an average across the insurer's existing policyholders. Within it, a renewal can move because of a new ticket or at-fault accident, a driver added or removed, a different vehicle, a coverage change or a discount that ended. Our page on whether car insurance rates are going down explains why averages and single bills often move differently.

If a renewal notice does not make the reason clear, our guide to reading a renewal notice shows where the explanation usually sits. Asking the insurer or agent which rating factors changed is a reasonable first step, and you can compare quotes from several insurers to see whether a price is in line with the market.

Sponsored link. QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service and is paid by insurance partners when you request quotes.

DFS takes complaints about insurance companies, and its complaint page links to the DFS Portal for filing a new complaint or adding information to an existing one, along with downloadable complaint forms ⁸. The DFS hotline is (800) 342-3736, staffed Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ⁹.

For a question about a specific claim, including a no-fault claim, start with your insurer and then DFS; we do not give claims advice. QuotePitStop is a lead-generation service, not an insurance company, agent or broker.

• ¹ Official record: DFS's September 9, 2026 release on the proposed regulation, the current two-increase and 5% flex-rating limit, prior approval for any upward change, notice of decreases, the 60-day comment period and the November 27, 2026 effective date, checked October 13, 2026.
• ² Official record: New York Insurance Law section 2350 on the New York State Senate site, the five percent band and two-increase limit until November 27, 2026, the decrease-only version from that date and the May 27, 2030 repeal date, checked October 13, 2026.
• ³ Official record: DFS Office of General Counsel opinion of January 16, 2009 on section 2305(b) prior approval and the 5% flex-rating band, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁴ Official record: DFS's July 1, 2026 release on the Fiscal Year 2027 Budget reforms and Circular Letter C3-2026-01, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁵ Official record: DFS's consumer FAQ on required coverage, the $25,000, $50,000 and $10,000 liability minimums, $50,000 no-fault coverage, uninsured motorists coverage and SUM, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁶ Official record: the DMV's insurance requirements page, the $50,000 and $100,000 death limits, continuous coverage and suspension for a lapse, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁷ Official record: New York Insurance Law section 5102, the $50,000 basic economic loss, $2,000 monthly lost earnings for up to three years and $25 a day for other expenses, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁸ Official record: DFS's complaint page and the DFS Portal, checked October 13, 2026.
• ⁹ Official record: DFS's contact page, the (800) 342-3736 hotline and its hours, checked October 13, 2026.