Buffalo drivers' guide
What a Buffalo auto policy has to handle
In Buffalo, as everywhere in New York, most registered cars need car insurance with at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash in injury liability. The law also requires $10,000 in property damage liability, $50,000 of no-fault coverage, and uninsured motorists coverage at the same $25,000/$50,000 minimums. Those are legal minimums, not a recommendation. The real questions are how high to set your liability and SUM limits, whether to carry comprehensive and collision, and how to avoid a lapse.
What New York requires on your car
Most cars registered in New York need an auto insurance policy with bodily injury liability of at least $25,000 for one person and $50,000 per crash, plus $50,000 for one death and $100,000 for two or more deaths in a crash. Property damage liability starts at $10,000 per crash. Every policy must also include $50,000 of no-fault coverage and uninsured motorists coverage for bodily injury at the same minimums.
The insurer must be licensed by the state Department of Financial Services (DFS) and certified by the DMV, which does not accept out-of-state insurance. Liability coverage must stay in force while the registration is valid, even if the car sits unused, and the name on the policy must exactly match the registration.
How no-fault works
No-fault, also called personal injury protection or PIP, pays medical bills, lost earnings and other reasonable expenses for people hurt in a crash, up to $50,000 per person. You claim it from the insurer of the car you were in or, if you were on foot, the car that hit you. Insurers must also offer Optional Basic Economic Loss (OBEL), which, for an added premium, pays up to $25,000 more for certain expenses after the basic $50,000 is used up.
State law generally limits suits between covered people for pain and suffering to cases of "serious injury", such as a fracture, so talk to an attorney about any lawsuit. Motorcycle riders and passengers are excluded from no-fault benefits.
The deadlines are short: written notice within 30 days of the accident and medical bills within 45 days of treatment. For more, see our PIP page. No-fault pays:
- Necessary medical, hospital, dental, ambulance and prescription costs, paid under state fee schedules.
- 80% of lost earnings, up to $2,000 a month, for up to three years. Workers' compensation, New York State Disability and certain wage continuation plans reduce no-fault benefits.
- Up to $25 a day for one year for other necessary costs, such as hiring a housekeeper or getting to medical appointments.
- A $2,000 death benefit to the estate of a covered person, on top of the $50,000.
Why the minimums are thin, and what SUM coverage adds
The legal minimums are a starting point. DFS advises drivers to consider higher liability limits based on their needs and the assets they want to protect. The required uninsured motorists coverage is set at those same minimums.
SUM (Supplementary Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists) is the optional upgrade, and you can buy it in amounts up to your own bodily injury liability limits. It can pay when the at-fault driver's bodily injury limits are lower than yours, up to the SUM limit you buy and subject to your policy's terms. With bodily injury liability limits of at least $250,000/$500,000, your insurer must offer SUM at $250,000/$500,000.
Snow, deer and potholes: which coverage pays
Collision and comprehensive are optional in New York, though a lender will likely require both on a financed car. For Buffalo's usual hazards:
- Snow: more than half of Buffalo's snowfall is lake-effect, and areas south of the city get much more of it than areas north. If you carry collision, a slide into a guardrail or another car is a collision claim, paid regardless of fault, subject to your policy's terms.
- Deer: if you carry comprehensive, hitting an animal falls under it, not collision. Erie County had 1,001 deer crashes in 2024, and statewide they spike from October through December. The DMV advises braking firmly, not swerving.
- Potholes: damage is usually covered only if you carry collision, which does not pay for wear and tear on the car or its tires from bad roads.
- Claims against the city or state: road-damage claims against a municipality or the State have strict written-notice rules and short filing deadlines, so talk to an attorney before counting on one. NYSDOT small claims and Thruway vehicle damage claims must be filed within 90 days, and if you have filed a claim with your own insurer, or it has paid or will pay, the insurer must submit it. NYSDOT may decline road-defect claims for damage between November 16 and April 30.
Lapses and DMV penalties
Insurers tell the DMV electronically when coverage starts and ends. If a policy ends and no new one is reported, you get a lapse letter from the DMV.
For a lapse of 90 days or less, you can pay a civil penalty instead of a registration suspension, unless you used that option in the past 36 months. The penalty is $8 a day for days 1 to 30, $10 for days 31 to 60 and $12 for days 61 to 90, or $900 for a full 90 days. If you do not pay it, your registration is suspended for as many days as the car was uninsured.
Past 90 days, you surrender your registration and plates, and the DMV suspends your license, with a $50 fee to reinstate it. Driving uninsured can bring a traffic court fine of up to $1,500 and impoundment, and the DMV will revoke your registration and license, with a $750 civil penalty to restore your license. The DMV's rule: no insurance, no plates. Ending coverage on a car? Turn in the plates before the policy ends.
If you have been non-renewed or turned down
Once a new personal auto policy has been in force 60 days, or at any point in a renewal policy, the insurer can cancel only for limited reasons such as nonpayment, a suspended or revoked license, or fraud. To non-renew, it must give 45 to 60 days of written notice stating the specific reasons. It also cannot refuse to issue or renew solely because of advanced age.
If you are turned down, talk to an independent agent first. DFS notes that one or two agents coming up empty does not mean no insurer will take you, since no single agent has contracts with every auto insurer in New York. The last resort is the New York Automobile Insurance Plan, or Auto Plan. Premiums there are generally higher, but you can leave whenever a regular insurer will cover you, with no short-rate cancellation charge.
This page is general information, not legal advice. What a policy pays depends on its terms, its limits and the coverages on it.
Ways Buffalo drivers keep the price down
- Take a DMV-approved defensive driving course. It cuts the base rate of your liability and collision premiums by 10% a year for three years, though if more than one person on the policy takes it, only the principal operator gets the 10%. Our Service Center links to an approved online course.
- Turn in the course certificate within 90 days of finishing so the discount dates back to your completion date, and retake the course every 36 months to keep it.
- Switch at renewal when you can. If you cancel mid-term, some insurers refund on a short-rate basis, which keeps more of your premium than a straight pro-rated refund would.
- Let us re-shop it. Under the Willoughby Guarantee, we re-shop your policy with the carriers we represent at every renewal, automatically, and we can price home and auto together too.
- Challenge us. Tell us who you're with now and when it renews, and we will tell you honestly whether we can do better.