Best Cheap Auto Insurance in New Mexico (2023)

New Mexico drivers pay an average annual car insurance premium of $1,524, lower than the national average of $1,668. However, car insurance rates in New Mexico have increased a shocking 38% in the first six months of 2023, likely a result of the state’s high number of uninsured drivers and car accident fatalities. 

With more rate increases on the way, it’s more important than ever to compare car insurance rates to ensure you’re securing an affordable rate. 

Plenty of car insurance companies across the Land of Enchantment offer a variety of discounts, telematics tools, and bundling options that can lower your rates — even if you have at-fault accidents, speeding tickets, and DWI convictions on your driving record.

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Cheapest car insurance companies in New Mexico

Finding the cheapest car insurance companies in New Mexico is a good start, but you must also compare their rates with features like coverage options, discounts, and customer service. You may discover that the best insurer for you is the one that caters to your individual situation and needs, even if it doesn’t have the overall cheapest rate.

Cheapest insurer for drivers with a speeding ticket: Progressive

Cheapest insurer for families: Allstate

Cheapest insurer for teenagers and students: Midvale Home & Auto

Cheapest liability-only car insurance in New Mexico

When you see the cheapest car insurance policies available in New Mexico, many of them will likely be liability-only policies. Liability-only car insurance provides the bare-minimum coverage state law requires. A liability-only policy covers bodily and property damage liability in most states, including New Mexico.

Here are the cheapest car insurance companies for liability insurance in New Mexico.

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in New Mexico

Whereas liability-only insurance provides a low level of coverage, full-coverage car insurance policies can provide coverage beyond property and bodily liability. The biggest difference: Liability coverage pays for damages you cause others, while full coverage covers damages you incur.

The best car insurance companies throughout New Mexico may define full coverage differently. Many may offer full-coverage policies that combine liability insurance with collision and comprehensive insurance. Others may add onto this by also providing personal injury protection (PIP) or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.

The table below shows the cheapest full-coverage auto insurance companies in New Mexico.

Are car insurance rates in New Mexico increasing?

Car insurance rates are rising across the country, with an average increase of 17% nationwide, according to Insurify’s 2023 Mid-Year Auto Report. New Mexico topped the list of states with the fastest-rising car insurance rates, with a staggering 38% increase in the first six months of 2023.

The average annual premium in New Mexico increased from $1,104 in 2022 to $1,524. One factor behind this spike in car insurance costs could be New Mexico’s high rate of severe car accidents. 

New Mexico had the fourth-highest rate of traffic fatalities in the U.S. in 2021, with 481 deaths, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. An additional 467 residents died in traffic accidents in 2022. The state also has the third-highest percentage of uninsured drivers, with 20.8% of motorists driving without insurance compared to a 12.18% U.S. average.

Unfortunately, industry-wide rate hikes mean New Mexico drivers may face even higher car insurance costs by the end of the year. Insurify’s data science team predicts a 22% total increase in rates nationwide by the end of 2023.

Car insurance requirements in New Mexico

New Mexico is an at-fault state, which means that the driver most at fault is responsible for paying the other parties’ damages. The New Mexico Tort Claims Act is also in effect, which specifies when a driver can seek payment for damages from government employees who are at fault in an accident.

State law only requires drivers to have bodily injury and property damage liability coverages. This state minimum coverage for New Mexico residents will be met with a liability-only policy from any New Mexico insurer.

New Mexico requires the following coverages and limits for drivers:^[2]

New Mexico requires liability insurance, but it’s not the only type of insurance available. No matter if you live in Las Cruces or Albuquerque, It’s a good idea to consider optional, additional coverages that protect against other types of bodily and property damage, including:

Collision insurance

This pays for damages when you collide with an object or another vehicle, even if you’re at fault.

Comprehensive insurance

This pays for non-collision damages, like when your car is damaged in a flood, fire, theft, falling objects, severe weather, or through vandalism.

Personal injury protection

This covers injuries and medical bills for you and your passengers.

Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage

When an at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough insurance to pay for your damages and medical expenses, this insurance can help cover costs.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an incident

Speeding tickets, at-fault accidents, and driving while intoxicated (DWI) convictions may be quite different in scope and severity, but they’re all incidents that could raise your insurance rates. If you have a spotty driving record, it’s crucial to find affordable, cheap car insurance while you work on driving safely and waiting for some of those violations to fall off your record, if they ever do.

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Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket

Compared to many other states, New Mexico’s roadways have higher speed limits on average, especially around major cities like Albuquerque and Santa Fe.^[3] Even though you can get a speeding ticket even if you don’t cause an accident, speed is still a factor in many fatal car accidents.^[4] Insurers view speeding as irresponsible driving, which is why they raise rates when drivers receive speeding tickets.

Here are cheap monthly car insurance quotes for New Mexico drivers with a speeding ticket to start your search, according to Insurify data.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an at-fault accident

New Mexico has had a higher motor vehicle traffic crash death rate than the United States average since at least 1999.^[5] Even though not all accidents result in death or even injury, many insurers will raise a policyholder’s rate after a single car accident. Many drivers are responsible and make minimal mistakes, which is why some insurers offer accident forgiveness programs.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DWI

With alcohol being involved in approximately 40% of fatal crashes, drinking and driving is an extremely dangerous behavior, which is why insurers penalize drivers with DWI convictions. In New Mexico, a DWI will stay on your record for 55 years, which will almost certainly continue to affect your car insurance rates no matter how clean you keep your record otherwise.^[1]

Here are average monthly quotes for the lowest rates drivers may get after a DWI conviction in New Mexico.

Cheapest car insurance for seniors

Many drivers see rates decrease around age 35, but car insurance rates tend to increase around age 75. Companies raise rates for this age group because response time, cognition, vision, and confidence may be impaired in senior divers.^[6]

These insurers offer the lowest average monthly rates for senior drivers in New Mexico.

Cheapest car insurance for teens

Although New Mexico generally reported a lower percentage of annual teenage driver deaths compared to many other states in 2020, U.S. teen driving deaths are still disproportionately high compared to other age groups.^[7]

Teens and young adults lack driving experience, often distract one another while driving, and can overestimate their driving abilities, which increases accident risks. That’s why teen drivers often pay more for car insurance.

Michael DeLong, research and advocacy associate at Consumer Federation of America, suggests that young drivers consider taking defensive driving courses to get the cheapest car insurance rates.

“For high school and college-aged teens looking for cheaper auto insurance, shop around and get quotes from a bunch of different insurers,” he says. “That will also help you get a better deal.”

These are the cheapest auto insurance companies for teen drivers in New Mexico.

How to get the cheapest car insurance in New Mexico

Comparing quotes is the best way to get the cheap car insurance rates in New Mexico. A highly saturated industry means constant competition. You might have the cheapest rate one year then discover that new rates, discounts, or incentives from another insurer may benefit you more.

Here are other ways you can lower your rate as soon as your next premium is due:

• Reconsider coverage. If your vehicle is worth less than 10 times your annual premium, you can remove some add-ons, like full-coverage auto insurance.

• Increase your deductible. You’ll have to pay more when filing a claim, but a higher deductible leads to lower premiums.

• Look for car insurance discounts. Auto insurance companies offer discounts for driving accident-free for a certain period, being a student and earning good grades, having vehicle safety features, and taking an approved defensive driving course.

• Bundle policies. If you need another insurance product, like home insurance or renters insurance, you can buy multiple policies with one insurer for a discount.

• Compare quotes. One of the best ways to get lower rates is to request quotes from different companies and compare them. Then, you can choose the insurer with the best option for you.

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New Mexico car insurance quotes by credit tier

Your credit score isn’t the only factor influencing your rates, though many insurers generally offer cheaper rates to those with excellent or good credit scores and more expensive rates to those with bad credit.

By New Mexico law, auto insurers can consider your credit scores when determining your rates. But they must send you a letter detailing what negative factors they found in your credit history caused them to decline, cancel, restrict, or quote your policy at a higher rate.^[8]

New Mexico car insurance FAQs

Insurify Insights

How New Mexico Drivers Measure Up

While most drivers know that car insurance quotes are determined in part by your personal driving history, many may be unaware that rates are also impacted by the average risk of the drivers around you as well. Check out Insurify's latest analysis of driving records in New Mexico below:

Methodology

Drawing from an internal database of over 4 million car insurance applications, the research team at Insurify analyzes patterns in car ownership and driver behavior - including how New Mexico drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across the United States in areas including speeding, DUIs, and more.
Insurify Insights publishes data-driven articles, trend analyses, and national rankings each week on all factors related to cars and those who drive them.

Ford F-Series Pickup

Most Popular Car in New Mexico

#33

State with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank

#40

State with the Moving Violations Rank

#24

State with the Most DUIs Rank

#33

State with the most Suspended Licenses

• Accidents in New Mexico

  While car accidents are a sadly unavoidable feature of time spent on the road, rates of accidents do vary from city to city and from state to state. New Mexico is the #45 state in the country for drivers with an at-fault accident on their driving record.

  • Rank among states: #45
  • Percent of drivers in New Mexico with an accident: 6.2%
• DUIs in New Mexico

  While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. New Mexico is the #24 state in the country for drivers with a prior drunk driving conviction.

  • Rank among states: #24
  • Percent of drivers in New Mexico with a DUI: 1.4%
• Reckless Driving in New Mexico

  Reckless driving refers to a specific traffic violation: when drivers willfully act dangerously in spite of the risks they’re imposing on both themselves and others. New Mexico is the #45 state in the country for drivers with a reckless driving offense on record.

  • Rank among states: #45
  • Percent of drivers in New Mexico with a reckless driving offense: 0.8%
• Rude Driving in New Mexico

  The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit one or more of the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-run. New Mexico is the #44 state in the country for drivers with a rude driving violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #44
  • Percent of drivers in New Mexico with a rude driving violation: 1%
• Speeding in New Mexico

  Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and have a serious impact on your insurance costs. New Mexico is the #33 state in the country for drivers with a speeding ticket on record.

  • Rank among states: #33
  • Percent of drivers in New Mexico with a speeding ticket: 7.7%
• Failure to Yield Rates in New Mexico

  Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. New Mexico is the #32 state in the country for drivers with a failure to yield violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #32
  • Percent of drivers in New Mexico with a failure to yield violation: 0.1%

Insurify Insights

Insurify's team of data scientists and content specialists presents Insurify Insights, a series of automotive, home, and health studies focusing on the topics that impact us all. through expert analysis of over 4 million car insurance applications and an array of top data sources, the Insurify Insights team produces new data-driven articles, trend analyses, regional superlatives, and national rankings every week. See Insurify Insights as featured in Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, NPR, and more.