Pssst! Hey! Want a quick way to save up to 10% to 15% on car insurance?
Take a safe driver course from an approved vendor.
Ok, it might take a few hours to a day. But you can do most of them on line at your own pace. Even while you’re binge-watching Netflix or watching NASCAR on tv.
22 states and the District of Columbia require insurance companies to provide a discounts to older drivers who complete an authorized online safe driving course.
If you qualify, based on your state and your age, you could get a very meaningful discount on your auto insurance – up to 10 to 15%. And that discount should last for about three years, as long as you don’t have any at-fault accidents or moving violations.
Depending on your state and premium, your safe driving course could pay for itself in less than two months.
Here’s why:
Suppose you’re paying $300 per month in car insurance. The AARP Offers a safe driver course for $23.95 for members and 29.95 for non-members.
If that course gets you a 10% discount on your car insurance premium, your safe driver course pays for itself in less than one month!
You don’t even have to be an AARP member to take the course! Just check the information specific to your state and sign up! You pay the fee, and take the course entirely online. The AARP sends you a certificate, proving that you completed the course with a passing grade. You submit it to your insurance company. And if you qualify based on your age, you may start benefitting from that discount on your next month’s car insurance bill.
The course normally takes between four and six hours to complete.
The AARP isn’t the only game in town. The National Safety Council also offers multiple safe driver courses, as well. These include a course for mature drivers age 55 and over, professional drivers, teens, and special programs for fleet managers. The NSC is the way to go for commercial drivers, though other carriers will honor a discount for some of these courses, depending on the driver’s age and state.
If you have recent moving violations, you may have been charged one or more “points” on your driver’s license. In Florida, for example, if you rack up 12 points in 12 months, you may get your license suspended. But enrolling in a safe driving course may help you remove some of those points.
Check with your carrier to find out which courses they honor for a discount. Or better yet, call us, and let’s discuss your situation. Chances are excellent that our independent agents can shop around at more than a dozen carriers and save you money, improve your insurance coverage, or both!
Tip: Insurance companies usually don’t provide a discount to drivers who enroll in a defensive driving course because of a court order. So don’t wait! to get the most benefit from the course, you should enroll now, while you don’t have to!
TeenSMART
The TeenSMART safe driver program is specifically designed for drivers in their teens. Who also have very high auto insurance premiums. If your state and carrier allow it, you may see significant savings from having your teenager complete this course. According to Adept Driver, teens that complete TeenSMART reduce their chance of a collision by an average of 28% and up to 49% and have 51% fewer bodily injury claims than teens that do not complete the program.
No wonder car insurance companies are willing to offer discounts for the completion of safe driver programs!
In addition, the chances of receiving a traffic citation one year after training are reduced by an average of 54% and up to 67%.
Alive at 25
The National Safety Council offers a special safe driving program for young drivers called Alive@55, a four-hour course focused on younger drivers from 16 to 25.
The program is proven to be effective: According to the Kentucky State Police, adoption of the Alive at 25 program statewide led to a 60% reduction in traffic fatalities for teenage drivers ages 16 through 19.
You can sign up for a live Zoom course for $65. The online, self-paced version costs just $29.95. Though some car insurance carriers subsidize the price substantially. If you take the Zoom course, the class dates close a week ahead of time so the NSC can mail class materials in time for the course.
Parents: You can play Let’s Make a Deal!
If you’ve got teenage drivers on your insurance policy, call us, or call your carrier. Find out if your teenager (or college student) can qualify for a safe driving course discount for TeenSMART or Alive at 25. If your car insurance company tells you they don’t offer a safe drivers’ course discount, then definitely call us! Chances are excellent we can find you a better deal.
Also ask if they can qualify for a good student car insurance discount if they get at least a B average, get a great score on a standardized test, or rank in the top 20% of their class. If the answer is yes, make your kids an offer they can’t refuse:
Add up the safe driver course discount and the good student discount, and offer them at least 50 percent of whatever your premium discount is every month – for as long as they keep the discount in place.
Win-win.
And it lines up all the right incentives.
God bless America!
See you on the road!
Steve “Mr. Insurance” Ludwig
CEO, Select Insurance Group
