Average Cost of Car Insurance in New Hampshire: What Drivers Typically Pay and What Moves Your Quote

Insured New Hampshire drivers spent an average of $986.84 per insured vehicle on personal auto insurance in 2023, according to the NAIC 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report (opens in a new tab). The same report puts the average liability premium at $482.42, collision at $391.38 and comprehensive at $158.20, for a combined average premium of $1,032.01 on a policy carrying all three. These are statewide averages for insured vehicles, not quotes. New Hampshire generally does not require every driver to buy auto insurance, but financial-responsibility rules can apply after an accident, and your own price depends on your coverage, vehicle, location, driving history and claims.

What the New Hampshire average actually measures

The NAIC publishes two kinds of statewide number, and they answer slightly different questions.

Average expenditure takes the total written premium for liability, collision and comprehensive and divides it by liability car-years, meaning the number of insured vehicles carrying liability over a year. Every insured car in the count has liability, but not every one has collision or comprehensive. That is why the $986.84 figure sits below the combined premium.

Combined average premium adds the three coverage averages together. It describes a policy with liability, collision and comprehensive, so $1,032.01 is closer to what a household carrying all three might see, before its own details are applied.

If you think in monthly terms, dividing by 12 gives about $82.24 for average expenditure and about $86.00 for the combined average premium. Those are arithmetic conversions, not monthly quotes.

Both figures combine the regular market with residual-market business, and both vary with coverage choices, limits, deductibles, vehicle values and the mix of drivers who are insured, per the NAIC report (opens in a new tab). Neither is labeled "minimum coverage" or "full coverage." "Full coverage" has no single standardized definition, so a quote described that way is best broken into its actual coverages, limits and deductibles.

How New Hampshire prices have moved

New Hampshire average expenditure has risen in recent years, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab):

• 2019: $864.76
• 2020: $848.30
• 2021: $843.18
• 2022: $880.82
• 2023: $986.84

The jump from 2022 to 2023 was about 12.0%. Nationally, average expenditure rose 14.42% in 2023 and the combined average premium rose 7.07%.

Average expenditure can change because of prices and because of the types and amounts of coverage people buy. Medical costs, wage-loss costs and litigation affect bodily injury liability, while vehicle prices, repairs, parts and labor affect property damage and physical-damage coverage, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab). Theft, windstorms and hailstorms can also push physical-damage premiums. If your renewal went up without any change on your end, those broader claim and repair costs can be part of the explanation, and your agent can tell you whether anything specific to your policy changed as well.

Is car insurance required in New Hampshire?

New Hampshire does not generally require every driver to buy auto insurance. When you do buy a liability policy, it must meet the limits in RSA 259:61 (opens in a new tab): $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 for injuries in one accident and $25,000 for property damage.

Skipping insurance does not remove financial responsibility. Under the financial-responsibility provisions of RSA Chapter 264 (opens in a new tab), a driver involved in a qualifying accident without insurance can be required to post security for damages, can have driving and registration privileges suspended, may have to surrender plates and can be required to show proof of future financial responsibility before driving again. An uninsured driver who causes a crash can also be personally responsible for the damages. If you are comparing the cost of a policy with going without, confirm the current procedures with the New Hampshire DMV or the statute itself.

How many New Hampshire drivers go without insurance

About 10.0% of New Hampshire motorists were uninsured in 2023, ranking the state 40th among jurisdictions, according to the Insurance Research Council (opens in a new tab). The 2022 estimate was 7.8%, which ranked 47th. The IRC bases these figures on the ratio of uninsured-motorist claims to bodily injury claims, so they are estimates rather than a count of drivers. Because the NAIC averages only cover insured vehicles, they describe what insured drivers pay, not what every New Hampshire driver pays.

That uninsured share makes uninsured motorist coverage worth a close look. Uninsured or hit-and-run motor-vehicle coverage is addressed in RSA 264:15 (opens in a new tab), and required policy provisions appear in RSA 264:18 (opens in a new tab). Ask your agent how the policy you are quoted handles an uninsured or underinsured driver and what limits it uses.

Why a New Hampshire quote can differ from the average

Insurers price your household, not the state. Common rating considerations include the vehicle, how it is used, where it is kept, the drivers on the policy, driving record, claims, the coverages you pick, limits and deductibles, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab). How much each factor counts depends on each insurer's filed underwriting and rating rules, and the New Hampshire Insurance Department (opens in a new tab) oversees those filings.

Location can move a quote within the state, so ask your agent which territory or garaging factor was used for your address.

Credit information in New Hampshire

Insurers can use insurance scores or consumer-report information in private-passenger auto underwriting and rating, within limits. Under New Hampshire Insurance Department rule Ins 3300 (opens in a new tab), an insurer using that information must file its rates, rules, criteria and parameters with the commissioner, may not produce excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory rates, and generally must update credit information at least once every 36 months when that applies.

An insurer cannot charge you a higher private-passenger auto premium solely because of credit information, under RSA 417:4 (opens in a new tab). RSA 417-A (opens in a new tab) also restricts cancelling, refusing to write or refusing to renew a policy solely on credit information. Credit can be one factor, but not the only one for those decisions.

How liability, collision and comprehensive differ

Each piece of the combined premium covers a different kind of loss, which is why the three 2023 averages differ so much:

• Liability ($482.42 average): pays for injuries and property damage you cause to others. Medical, wage-loss and litigation costs drive this part.
• Collision ($391.38 average): pays to repair your own car after a crash. Vehicle prices, parts and labor drive this part.
• Comprehensive ($158.20 average): pays for damage to your car from things other than a crash, such as theft, windstorms and hail.

A liability-only quote and a quote with all three coverages are not comparable, so check which one you are looking at before deciding whether a price looks high.

What a lender requires

A lender's contract can require collision and comprehensive on a financed or leased vehicle even though New Hampshire does not require every driver to buy insurance, according to the NAIC Consumer's Guide to Auto Insurance (opens in a new tab). That requirement comes from your loan or lease, not state law. Ask your lender what coverages and maximum deductibles it requires before you request quotes, so every quote meets the same terms.

Discounts to ask about

Insurers may offer discounts for driver education or defensive-driving courses, good-student status, mature drivers, multiple vehicles, safety equipment, anti-theft devices and bundling auto with another policy, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab). These are possibilities, not guarantees, and each insurer sets its own. Ask which discounts are already in the price, which you might qualify for, what documentation is needed and when a discount takes effect.

Personal versus business auto insurance

Personal and business auto insurance are different products, and business auto policies can carry different limits and protections, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab). If you use your vehicle for deliveries, client visits, rideshare or other work, ask whether that use is covered under a personal policy or calls for a commercial auto policy. Getting the answer before a claim avoids a coverage surprise.

How to compare New Hampshire quotes

Give each insurer the same information and ask for the same coverages and limits, as the NAIC Consumer's Guide (opens in a new tab) advises. Match deductibles, vehicles, drivers, garaging location, mileage, vehicle use and any optional coverages too, and ask for each quote in writing.

Gather these before you call:

• Your current declarations page.
• Driver's licenses for everyone on the policy.
• Vehicle identification numbers and registrations.
• Garaging address, annual mileage and vehicle use.
• Current limits and deductibles.
• Claims and violations information.
• Lender information, if the car is financed or leased.
• Any business or delivery use.
• Documents for discounts you expect to qualify for.

Questions to ask an agent about price

These questions, many drawn from the NAIC auto shopping tool (opens in a new tab), make two quotes easier to read side by side:

• Which coverages, limits and deductibles are included, and is this liability-only or does it include collision and comprehensive?
• Which vehicle, driver, garaging address, mileage and use classifications were used?
• Which driving-record or claims items affected the rate?
• Was an insurance score or consumer report used?
• Which discounts were applied, and what documentation is required?
• Are fees, installment charges or payment charges included?
• What would change if the deductible changed?
• Does this policy cover business use, delivery, commuting or rideshare?
• What exclusions and restrictions apply?
• How does the policy handle an uninsured or underinsured driver?

Frequently asked questions

Is New Hampshire car insurance cheaper than the combined average premium suggests?

It depends on what you buy. A liability-only policy is compared against the $482.42 liability average, not the $1,032.01 combined figure, which assumes collision and comprehensive too, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab).

What limits must a New Hampshire liability policy meet?

A motor-vehicle liability policy must provide at least $25,000 for injury to one person, $50,000 per accident and $25,000 for property damage under RSA 259:61 (opens in a new tab). These limits apply to policies that meet the statute's definition.

Can my credit alone raise my New Hampshire premium?

No. RSA 417:4 (opens in a new tab) bars charging a higher private-passenger auto premium solely because of credit information. An insurer can still use a filed insurance score as one rating factor.

Why did New Hampshire average costs rise in 2023?

Average expenditure climbed about 12.0% from 2022 to 2023. Medical, litigation, vehicle, repair, parts and labor costs all feed into these changes, along with the coverages policyholders choose, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab).

Next steps

Start with your declarations page and your lender's requirements, then request written quotes using the same drivers, vehicles, limits and deductibles. If you want to talk it through with a local agency, our New Hampshire insurance agency directory lists agencies by city and by category. Our guides to New Hampshire car insurance requirements, the average cost of car insurance in Connecticut and New York, whether your credit score affects car insurance and how to switch car insurance cover the next questions a quote can raise.