Best Cheap Auto Insurance in New Bedford, Massachusetts (2025)

Life near the water in Massachusetts can be expensive if you don’t work to find a better price, and the same is true for car insurance in New Bedford. The average rate for car insurance in the city is $97 per month, according to proprietary data from Insurify. However, the cheapest companies in town — GEICO, Allstate, and Travelers — all offer lower rates.

A monthly cost of $97 isn’t bad, and it’s lower than the national average. But some insurers offer rates that are far higher, and it’s up to you to find the right policy for you. Here’s how.

Best car insurance companies in New Bedford

Selecting the ideal car insurance company means looking at your specific coverage needs, budget, and personal circumstances to find the best plan at the lowest price.

Here’s an at-a-glance look at three area auto insurance companies that combine low rates with plenty of coverage options and other benefits. While you may ultimately choose a different insurer, it doesn’t hurt to start your search here.

Best insurer for young and senior drivers: GEICO

Best insurer for discounts: American Family

Best insurer for stability: Travelers

Cheapest liability-only car insurance in New Bedford

Liability coverage is basic coverage that pays for bodily injury and property damage suffered by others in an accident you cause. However, it doesn’t cover your own losses.

Massachusetts car insurance rates compare favorably to rates in other states, according to Insurify data, so it’s not surprising that you’ll find cheap liability coverage in New Bedford. Here, you can see a list of average monthly quotes for liability coverage from area insurers.

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in New Bedford

Full-coverage car insurance provides liability insurance coverage as well as coverage for physical damage to your own vehicle. It includes collision coverage for accidents with other vehicles and comprehensive coverage for damage from non-collision events, such as fallen trees, fire, and theft.

Although you’ll pay higher rates for the additional coverage, it might be worth having if you have a vehicle you can’t replace on your own. And your lender may require you to carry full coverage if you lease or finance your car.

The following companies offer some of the cheapest average quotes available for full coverage.

Car insurance requirements in Massachusetts

Massachusetts has compulsory, or mandatory, coverages that drivers must carry for each vehicle they register. Compulsory coverage includes:

Here are the minimum coverage requirements in Massachusetts:

Also, keep in mind that Massachusetts is a no-fault state, which means PIP covers you no matter who caused the accident. The average monthly cost for full coverage in Massachusetts is $145, while a liability-only policy averages $94 per month, according to Insurify data.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an incident

An incident is any event that’s reported to the insurance agency, whether from filing a claim or getting a ticket for a moving violation. Common reportable incidents include speeding tickets, at-fault accidents, and DUI convictions.

Any of these events has the potential to drive up your rates because they make you a high-risk driver in the eyes of your insurance company. In the sections that follow, you’ll see how individual incident types affect your car insurance.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket

Car insurance companies check customers’ driving records from time to time, and if speeding tickets show up on yours, your insurer might raise your rates or end your good-driver discount. That’s not surprising, considering speeding makes you more likely to get into an accident, and it can also increase the severity of injuries and property damage in such an event.

Here, you can see how a speeding ticket can affect your quotes in New Bedford.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an at-fault accident

Any accident claim can increase your insurance rates. But unless your car insurance policy includes accident forgiveness, an accident you cause will have the most impact, especially if there are injuries or the damage is severe. In this case, you could wind up paying more for your insurance for the next few years.

Here’s a look at the quotes you can expect.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI

A DUI is a serious offense that could have a worse effect on your insurance rates and your coverage than just about any other reportable incident. If you have a DUI on your record, your insurance premiums will climb considerably, and some insurers may drop you altogether. If you can’t find insurance through another company, you can get coverage through the state’s Safe Driver Insurance Plan.

Here’s a collection of average quotes from insurers in New Bedford that offer coverage to drivers with a DUI on their record.

Cheapest car insurance for seniors

Despite their years of driving experience, seniors often see their rates increase once they reach age 75. This might come as a bit of a shock, but aging is associated with a higher risk of serious crash-related injuries, and that becomes more significant by age 70.8 By age 75, insurance rates reflect that worsening risk.

Cheapest car insurance for teens

It takes years to develop optimum driving skills, and while they’re still learning and maturing, teens and young adults are prone to unsafe driving behavior. They also have a heightened risk of being in an accident.9 As a result, teens pay higher insurance premiums compared to other age groups.

However, teens can save on their insurance policy premiums in several ways, including:

• Staying on their parents’ policy

• Sticking with an inexpensive, safe car

• Maintaining good grades to qualify for a good-student discount

• Driving safely to qualify for good-driver discounts

How to get the cheapest car insurance in New Bedford

The cheapest car insurance company in New Bedford isn’t the same for everyone because insurers take personal factors, such as credit, age, marital status, and gender, into consideration when they set rates. So what can you do to ensure you’re getting the lowest rate possible on your car insurance policy?

First, talk to your insurance agent to discuss your coverage needs. Then, use these tips to score the best price on the right auto insurance policy for you:

• Compare rate quotes from several insurance companies.

• Raise your deductible to the highest amount you could pay out of pocket if you needed to file a claim.

• Purchase your home insurance, life insurance, or other policies from the same insurer to qualify for bundling discounts.

• Drive safely and defensively to avoid moving violations and accidents.

• Protect your good credit score or take steps to improve a poor one.

Is car insurance more expensive in New Bedford?

Massachusetts has the fifth-lowest rates for full coverage and 11th-lowest for liability only — $108 and $78, respectively, according to Insurify data. While New Bedford’s average cost for liability only is slightly lower, at $73, drivers pay slightly higher than average for full coverage. That average is $120 per month in New Bedford.

More cities in Massachusetts

Compared to other Massachusetts cities, New Bedford’s best auto insurance companies are on the high side for full-coverage rates. The differences could stem from factors like population density, commuting habits, and crime rates. This chart shows you how New Bedford compares to other similar-sized cities in Massachusetts.