Cheapest Car Insurance in New Mexico

Because insurance rates vary so drastically between providers, locations, and customers, we’ve aggregated the cheapest prices based on specific driving situations and personal background factors. Insurance providers look at the collective of your background and driving history when assessing rates, so the following rates may or may not necessarily apply to you.

For example, even if you have a good credit score, you might pay higher rates if you also have a history of traffic violations. Consider the collective process of how insurance providers generate rates when you’re trying to find the cheapest plan.

Age

Auto insurance average rates by demographics tend to reflect the corresponding risk of certain drivers, and age is no exception. Teen drivers get into more car accidents than any other age group, so it’s no surprise that their prices are the highest on average. If you’re a teen driver, you can expect your rates to stay relatively high until your mid-twenties. After this, those costs will gradually decrease (assuming you maintain a safe driving record).

• 16: Central, $3,146
• 17: USAA, $2362
• 18: USAA, $1,988
• 19: Allstate, $2,233
• 20s: Nationwide, $1,063
• 30s: Central, $1,006
• 40s: Central, $927
• 50s: Central, $903
• 60s: Central, $936
• 70s: Central, $1,043

Coverage

It makes sense that the more coverage you get, the higher your rates will be. We recommend increasing your limits to at least $500,000 and getting full coverage with uninsured motorist protection. However, if you can’t afford that level of coverage, you will have low-cost options for minimum liability that are among the most affordable in the country.

• Full coverage: State Farm, $644
• Minimum coverage: State Farm, $254

Here are some of the top insurance providers based on their rates, discounts, customer service scores, and other factors.

• Allstate
• Central
• Farm Bureau
• Farmers
• GEICO
• Liberty Mutual
• Nationwide
• Progressive
• State Farm
• USAA

There are several ways to save on car insurance in New Mexico, depending on your specific background and the provider you’re working with.

1. Compare car insurance quotes and shop around: Never agree to the first offer an insurance provider writes up for you. Most car insurance providers will secure your quote for 30 days, which gives you plenty of time to look around, compare deals, and find the best offer in your area. Car insurance rates differ drastically from person to person and from provider to provider, so take your time in getting as many quotes as possible before you decide on an offer.
2. Bundle policies: Policy bundling is a discount that most providers offer, and it’s one of the easiest ways to earn big savings on car insurance (and other insurance policy types). For example, Nationwide has several ways to bundle motorcycles and vehicles, while Allstate’s home/auto bundling discount is one of the largest in the country at up to 25 percent off. Speak to your agent about what bundling discounts are available to you.
3. Get age-related discounts: If you’re one of the 54,000 drivers under the age of 20 or 300,000 drivers over the age of 65 in New Mexico, look for age-specific discounts to save on car insurance.⁵ Some providers, like State Farm and Direct Auto, offer defensive driving courses to seniors and teens specifically. Additionally, companies like the AARP (The Hartford) have several perks and discounts that are exclusive to older Americans.
4. Track your driving habits: Most providers offer some kind of driving tracking program, like Allstate’s Milewise or USAA’s SafePilot program. Driving tracking programs help providers determine your insurance rates based on how much you drive or how safely you drive every month. If you’re a safe driver or drive less than 8,000 miles a year (the average miles driven per year in New Mexico is around 11,000), you can earn some considerable savings with a driving tracking program.⁶
5. Lower your limits: We recommend increasing your car insurance limits as high as you can afford, but you can always decrease your liability insurance limits if you find yourself struggling to keep up with your overall monthly costs. Per New Mexico’s minimum insurance requirements, you can go as low as $25,000 bodily injury liability per person and $50,000 per accident, and $10,000 of property damage liability per accident. Just keep in mind that you may have to pay out of pocket for the other party’s (if you’re at fault) damages or injuries that go over those limits.
6. Raise your deductible: You can expect your monthly premiums to decrease with higher deductibles. Of course, there’s always a risk of increasing your deductibles because you’ll have to pay the higher amount if you file a claim. But if you’re a safe driver and don’t have a history of claims, this could be a good option to keep your monthly costs low. In any case, make sure that you select a deductible amount that you can afford if you have to pay it in full tomorrow. You don’t want to be in a position where you need to borrow money to cover the cost of an accident or emergency situation.

New Mexico’s car insurance minimum limits are not enough to protect you in severe accidents, especially if you’re at fault in the accident. Because New Mexico is an at-fault state, your insurance provider will be expected to cover the cost of property damages and injuries for both you and the other party involved in the accident.⁷ If those costs ever exceed your limits, you could face a lawsuit and have to pay for the damages out of pocket.

If you can afford it, we recommend increasing your liability coverage up to $500,000. We also recommend adding some optional coverage types that will keep you more protected while you’re on the road.

• Collision coverage: Property damage liability coverage will help you pay for damages that you’ve caused to another person’s car or property, but it doesn’t contribute to damages that your vehicle/property incur. That’s where collision insurance comes in. Collision coverage will pay for your vehicle’s damages in an accident, regardless of who is at fault.
• Comprehension coverage: With comprehensive coverage, your provider will help pay for events that aren’t collisions. Covered claims include events like car vandalism, auto theft, weather damages (hail, hurricanes, etc.), debris-related glass damages, and roadkill.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: If you get into an accident with a motorist who doesn’t have any insurance, or doesn’t have enough insurance to cover a claim, they may not be able to reimburse you for the property damages or medical costs out of pocket. With uninsured motorist coverage, your provider will cover your damages and ensure you get the repairs you need in a timely manner. Your uninsured motorist limit should match your liability limit. New Mexico has the fourth-highest rate of uninsured drivers in the country (22 percent), so you should definitely add uninsured motorist coverage if you can afford to.⁸

If you don’t want to go through a traditional car insurance provider to protect yourself and your vehicle, there are some alternative car insurance options you can refer to in New Mexico.

Self Insurance

Every state has its own rules and guidelines for self-insurance eligibility. While most states require you to own a minimum number of vehicles and some amount of cash collateral, New Mexico’s self-insurance requirements are at the discretion of the superintendent of insurance. So, in order to self-insure your vehicle, you’ll have to meet the superintendent of insurance’s criteria, which they will determine on a case-by-case basis.

New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division Contact Information

• URL: https://www.mvd.newmexico.gov/
• Mailing address:
  • New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division
  • Joseph Montoya Building
  • P.O. Box 1028
  • Santa Fe, NM 87504-1028
• Phone number: 888-683-4636 (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MT)
• Email: Support@nminteractive.org

The cheapest auto insurance companies in New Mexico depend on your personal background, zip code, and unique driving history. However, State Farm, GEICO, USAA, and Central offer the cheapest auto insurance rates to drivers in New Mexico on average. Shop around, ask your agent about discounts, look out for auto insurance memberships such as AARP or USAA, and bundle your plans to get the cheapest rates, whether you want minimum or full coverage car insurance in New Mexico for 2023.

And for high-risk and young drivers in New Mexico, you can still get affordable, quality insurance with the right provider. Look for car insurance providers that specialize in high-risk auto insurance, like Dairyland, a great option for someone with a speeding ticket on their record. Want to learn more about how to find cheap auto insurance? Check out our guide for the best cheap auto insurance.