Car insurance in New Hampshire

Posted on September 26, 2014

One of the few states that do not require vehicle owners to carry car insurance is New Hampshire, which offers vehicle owners the option to post cash bonds as an alternative. However, the amount required to post the cash bond is roughly enough to buy five cars. So most New Hampshire drivers just buy the insurance. Here’s the latest available information on car insurance in the state of New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Minimum Liability Coverage

The minimum required per-vehicle coverage amount for car insurance in the state of New Hampshire is 25/50/25. This means that a driver must carry no less than $25,000 in coverage against personal injury (also known as Personal Injury Protection or PIP insurance), along with $50,000 in coverage for injuries to others, and $25,000 in coverage against property damage. Experts also recommend Uninsured Motorist (UMI) protection, as roughly eleven percent (11%) of drivers in the state of New Hampshire are driving uninsured vehicles.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in New Hampshire

Driving without proof of financial responsibility in the state of New Hampshire may result in being ticketed, fined and/or having your driver’s license suspended until proof of ability to pay damages is provided. Additional penalties may include reinstatement fees and increased premiums.

Auto Insurance Rates in New Hampshire

New Hampshire has the highest percentage of DUI deaths of all U.S. states. However, according to the Department of Energy, New Hampshire is one of the least expensive states to own a car. In fact, the average annual premium for car insurance in the state of New Hampshire was $941 in 2016, quite low by comparison to the overall national average of $1,347. Statistical reports suggest that New Hampshire’s relatively low annual auto insurance premiums are due to a strong local economy, low population density and a lower than average percentage of uninsured vehicles on the road.

Low Cost Car Insurance Programs in New Hampshire

One way to get low cost car insurance in New Hampshire is move to Maine. Or at least maintain an address there. After all, Maine is right next door (so to speak) and has the lowest average auto insurance premiums of any state in the USA.

If moving to Maine is not an option for you (or even if it is), the best way to save money on car insurance is to qualify for every possible discount program offered. Special deals include Good Driver discounts, Good Student discounts, Safe Vehicle discounts, Multiple Vehicle discounts and Defensive Driving Course discounts, among others.

Obtaining Auto Insurance Quotes in New Hampshire

According to recent online consumer reviews, New Hampshire’s favorite auto insurance carriers are Allstate, Farmers Insurance, Geico, Progressive, State Farm, and 21^st Century. But the state of New Hampshire is home to no less than 25 companies that provide auto insurance at competitive rates. All of them are glad to assist you. Ask about their special discounts. Compare quotes and select the best deal. That’s all there is to it!

New Hampshire Car Insurance

Among states, the average rate of New Hampshire car insurance one of the 10 least expensive in the nation, just as New Hampshire is one of America’s 10 smallest states, in both population and land area.

Still, there are many ways for drivers in the state of New Hampshire to lower their annual premium rates on car insurance even further. This page provides interesting facts about the state of New Hampshire, and also reveals a simple, step by step approach to reducing your rates on New Hampshire auto insurance.

See various New Hampshire zip code demographics, such as poverty stats, unemployment rates, population data, median incomes, and other factors that can influence car insurance rates in the state of New Hampshire. See what kinds of auto insurance coverage New Hampshire drivers need. Learn a few New Hampshire state insurance laws. Read about the 10 largest car insurance companies in the state of New Hampshire, and the 10 largest car insurance companies in the United States.

This page also provides the average annual car insurance premium rate for the state of New Hampshire. Compare this rate to your own New Hampshire car insurance rates. You can even compare your annual rates to the four cheapest and the four priciest zip codes in the state of New Hampshire to buy car insurance.

Most importantly, scroll down to find out about all the car insurance discounts that might be factored in to your New Hampshire car insurance policy.

New Hampshire Car Insurance Statistics

A census bureau estimate from 2015 determined that the state of New Hampshire is home to slightly more than 1.33 million people. The median resident age in New Hampshire is about 42.8 years. Curiously, northeastern states have higher median ages than warmer states.

New Hampshire has the 4^th lowest unemployment rate of all states in the nation at 2.9 percent. This figure falls quite far below the national average unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. The poverty rate in New Hampshire is approximately 8.2 percent, again quite a good distance below the national average poverty rate of 13.5 percent.

Statisticians recently determined that the statewide average annual premium rate for a car insurance policy purchased in the state of New Hampshire was around $1,101, quite a bit lower than the overall national average car insurance rate, which was about $1,355 at the time.

Another group from the Insurance Research Council analyzed New Hampshire drivers, and found that roughly 9.3 percent of drivers in New Hampshire are operating uninsured vehicles. That means more than 1 in 11 vehicles on New Hampshire road are uninsured. The overall national average rate of uninsured vehicles is 12.6 percent.

The 10 Largest New Hampshire Car Insurance Companies

When searching for New Hampshire car insurance, a typical driver might select the largest carrier, or perhaps a carrier recommended by a friend. Some New Hampshire drivers pick a car insurance company at random. Others might pick the company that has the most memorable TV commercial. All of these methods are time-saving approaches to buying car insurance, but doing your own research will save you more money in the long run.

For such a tiny state, New Hampshire has quite a few major car insurance companies, as well as a number of smaller, regional carriers. Here is a list of the 10 largest car insurance companies in the United States, followed by a list of the 10 largest car insurance companies in the state of New Hampshire:

According to a study, the ten largest auto insurance companies in America are

Allstate Insurance
State Farm Insurance
Geico
Progressive Insurance
Nationwide Group
AAA
Liberty Mutual Insurance
21^st Century Insurance
GMAC
AIG

The car insurance companies on this list are ranked by the total annual dollar amount of written premiums.

Below is the list of the ten largest car insurance companies in New Hampshire. Again, these carriers are ranked by their total amount of direct annual written premiums, which is a measure of a company’s total market share in the state of New Hampshire.

Rank	Company	Premiums ($)	Market Share (%)
1	State Farm Insurance Group	$88,983	12.65
2	Progressive Insurance Group	$86,589	12.31
3	Liberty Mutual Insurance	$83,602	11.89
4	Berkshire Hathaway Insurance	$77,228	10.98
5	Allstate Insurance Group	$65,008	9.25
6	USAA Group	$33,992	4.83
7	Amica Mutual Group	$28,739	4.09
8	Concord Group Insurance Pool	$27,448	3.9
9	MetLife Personal Lines Group	$23,263	3.31
10	The Hanover Insurance Group	$21,678	3.08

It seems that State Farm Insurance, Progressive Insurance, Liberty Mutual, and Berkshire Hathaway are the leading automobile insurers in the state of New Hampshire. Any of these companies might be okay, but not necessarily so. There is really no such thing as The One Best New Hampshire Car Insurance Company.

Here’s how to find your best New Hampshire car insurance company.

Cutting Costs on New Hampshire Car Insurance

In all seriousness, one solid way to reduce the costs on your New Hampshire car insurance policy is to make it a Maine car insurance policy instead. This tactic could be feasible for any New Hampshire driver who lives within 30 miles of the Maine border and works in Maine, or has friends and family members who live in Maine. Car insurance rates in Maine are the cheapest in the nation.

Failing that, New Hampshire drivers can still reduce their car insurance premium rates by reading a few consumer reviews of New Hampshire car insurance companies, then comparing online quotes between these car insurance companies. Finally and foremost, New Hampshire drivers must proactively take advantage of every available discount on car insurance.

Make a list of whichever New Hampshire car insurance companies you think you might choose. Then visit each company’s website, type in your demographic info, and extract a few online quotes. You can also compare quotes between zip codes within the state of New Hampshire. Try typing in the zip code where you work and the zip code where you live, for instance. While you are there, don’t forget to find the discounts each company offers.

Some discounts are applied automatically when you obtain online quotes, but others you may have to call an auto insurance agent to inquire. Do not hesitate to call an agent if you spot a discount for which you might qualify. To really save money on New Hampshire car insurance, you need to choose the company that offers you the biggest discounts.

Drivers in New Hampshire can qualify for Good Student discounts, Senior driver discounts, Family Member discounts, Good Driver discounts, Safety Feature discounts, Anti Theft Device discounts, Low Mileage discounts, Multiple Policy discounts, Up Front Payment discounts, and Occupational discounts, to name just a few.

What Types Of Car Insurance Do New Hampshire Drivers Need?

New Hampshire car insurance laws require that each registered vehicle in the state must have minimum coverage amounts of $25,000 for bodily injury to others, $50,000 in per-accident coverage, and $25,000 to cover the cost of property damage.

Also mandatory for New Hampshire drivers is another $25,000 (per bodily injury) and $50,000 (per accident) coverage for uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance (UMI). Finally, New Hampshire drivers must purchase $1,000 in Medical Payments coverage. Most of these rates are only half of what they are in the state of Maine, although the average rate by state is still cheaper in Maine.

Still, the minimum coverage requirements set forth by individual state laws are often not enough to cover the cost of real traffic accidents. In fact, United States insurance experts recommend coverage amounts are $100,000 for personal injury protection, $300,000 coverage against bodily injury to others, and no less than $50,000 to cover the cost of property damage.

For optimal protection, New Hampshire drivers can also opt for comprehensive and collision coverage. Spend a little more, and these insurance products will protect you from collisions, vandalism, car theft, and hail damage, among other mishaps.

Best And Worst Zip Codes For New Hampshire Car Insurance

New Hampshire car insurance rates go up and down from one zip code to another, due to the differing population densities, unemployment data, poverty statistics, median income levels, crime rates, the percentage of uninsured drivers on the roads, and other demographic effects that change between zip codes, even within the same state.

Here is a list of the four most expensive zip codes (on average) in the state of New Hampshire to buy car insurance. Annual premium rates in these neighborhoods can range from about $580 to around $1,995, with an average annual premium rate of around $1,365.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03841 (Hampstead)	585	4.90%	4.60%

Roughly 6,300 people reside in this Rockingham County zip code. The unemployment exceeds the 2.9 percent state average. However, the poverty rate is much lower than the state average of 8.2 percent. This is the most expensive zip code in New Hampshire, on average, to buy car insurance. Fortunately for some, this part of New Hampshire is less than 30 miles from the border of Maine. Do you have friends or family in Kennebunkport, perhaps?

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03858 (Newton)	480	4.10%	6.10%

This neighborhood of roughly 4,800 people is also located in Rockingham County, hugging the border of Massachusetts. Again, the unemployment rate is above the state average, while the poverty rate is below the state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03811 (Atkinson)	610	2.80%	3.20%

This neighborhood, located just south of Hampstead near the border of Massachusetts, has a population of less than 7,000 people. The unemployment and poverty rates are both below the state average. It is unclear why this neighborhood is one of the priciest zip codes to buy New Hampshire car insurance. Maybe because of its nearness to Massachusetts, where car insurance rates are a bit higher.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03848 (Kingston)	309	5.30%	4.80%

This neighborhood is home to about 6,000 people. Poverty is on the low side, but unemployment is nearly twice the 2.9 percent state average.

Now compare the New Hampshire zip codes mentioned above to the neighborhoods shown below. Here is a list of the four least expensive zip codes (on average) in the state of New Hampshire to buy car insurance. Annual premium rates in these areas can range from around $530 to about $1,455, with an average annual premium rate of around $1,028.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03264 (Plymouth)	200	6.30%	20.60%

Roughly 7,400 people live in this Grafton County neighborhood. The median resident age here is 23.5 years, and the unemployment and poverty rates are more than twice the state averages. Could this be the neighborhood for people who flunked out of Dartmouth College?

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03766 (Lebanon)	300	2.90%	7.40%

This Grafton County zip code is home to about 9,500 people. The unemployment rate is exactly the state average, and the poverty rate is below the state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03755 (Hanover)	286	3.00%	13.10%

This Grafton County zip code is home to Dartmouth College. More than 10,000 people live here. The median resident age in this neighborhood is 23.0 years. The unemployment and poverty rates are just above the state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
03750 (Etna)	95	1.70%	4.40%

Fewer than 1,200 people live in this neighborhood. The unemployment and poverty rates are as low as they go.

Overall, the state of New Hampshire is home to 281 zip codes scattered over 10 counties containing 255 cities, from Acworth to Woodstock and everywhere in between. There is a difference of more than $350 in average annual car insurance premium rates between the cheapest zip codes and the priciest zip codes in the state of New Hampshire.

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