Insurance Center

New York is very strict about this: Before you can register your vehicle in the state, you must obtain liability insurance. No insurance, no license plates.

The Department of Motor Vehicles requires proof of insurance in the form of a New York insurance ID card from you and electronic verification from your insurer. State law requires both paper proof and electronic proof.

The minimum liability coverage required to register your vehicle in New York, a no-fault state, is:

• Bodily injury liability: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injury and $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for death

• Uninsured motorists coverage: $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for injury and $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident for death

• Property damage liability: $10,000

• Basic no-fault: $50,000

New York, unlike most other states, requires that you insure your vehicle with a company licensed by the New York State Insurance Department; out-of-state insurance is unacceptable.

Your insurance company will notify the DMV electronically both when it issues you a policy and when the policy ends. If one company notifies the DMV that its policy for you has lapsed before another company informs the DMV of a new policy for you, and you haven't turned in your license plates to the DMV, you'll have problems.

The DMV will send you a letter about the issue, and if you don't resolve it right away, you could lose not only your vehicle registration, but also your driver license. Beyond that, driving an uninsured vehicle is against the law; you could be ticketed and fined, and your car could be impounded.

If the DMV suspends your registration due to lack of insurance for 90 days or fewer, you may be given the option to pay penalties between $8 and $12 for each day the vehicle was uninsured (a civil penalty for 85 days will run you $840).

Find out more about New York's auto liability insurance requirements and read answers to frequently asked questions.