Good Driver Discounts: What Are They and Do You Qualify?
When you’re looking for car insurance, having a clean driving record is a huge plus. You see, most insurance companies offer significant discounts on auto insurance that take into account your driving history and other factors. These discounts can save you a lot of money! Here are some tips on how to get the best deal out there.
Have you ever wondered how your driving record might affect the price of your insurance? It’s important to see if you qualify for discounts, but it may be even more important to know what can increase your premiums.
If you want to find out which good driver discounts you qualify for then try our free rate comparison tool.
What Types of Good Driver Discounts Exist?
There are different types of discounts and how much they decrease the cost of your coverage varies per company.
Discounts offered by insurance carriers are typically broken into the following categories:
- Accident-free discount – Many insurance companies offer discounts of up to 20% for drivers who do not have had any accidents in the past 3-5 years.
- Violation-free discount – Many insurance companies offer a discount of up to 15% for drivers who have been driving without violating traffic laws.
Companies like Nationwide, Allstate, Progressive, and Travelers offer good driver discounts. When drivers have an excellent driving history, the discount will be applied separately to each of them. As more drivers join your policy, the amount of the overall premium will decrease.
Maintaining Good Driver discounts
It’s important to remember that just because you have a Good Driver discount in the first place doesn’t mean you can keep it. You can do a few things to avoid a price increase, but the most important thing is to not make any mistakes.
Do not speed while driving
Driving carefully and avoiding any traffic violations is the best way to keep your driver’s license clean. This will help you avoid any inconveniences, which might lead to a stain on your record.
Consider adding accident forgiveness to your policy
One way to protect your car insurance rate is an optional coverage called accident forgiveness. This protects you from a rate increase after you’ve been in an accident. The majority of the time, this discount can be either bought or earned for consecutive years of safe driving.
Complete a defensive driving course
Want to save money on your premium? A defensive driving course can be just what you need. These courses are often 4-8 hours long, depending on the state, and they provide crucial knowledge that can be used during unexpected situations in the future such as aggressive drivers, mechanical issues, and weather conditions. Completing this course will award you with a completion certificate that your insurance company might like to see before applying a discount on your policy.
More Tips on Driving Defensively
Some of the most important defensive driving tips are to never drive while distracted, never drive aggressively, obey all traffic laws, always wear your seat belt, don’t drink alcohol before driving, adjust your driving for the type of vehicle you are driving, be aware of your surroundings, exercise patience, stay at a safe driving distance, always signal before making a change in direction, never pass on the shoulder, always use your headlights, don’t tailgate, and if you have to stop, try to look for a spot that is well lit, where there is enough room for the other drivers to see you, and where other drivers can see enough of the road to be able to stop behind you safely.
The most important defensive driving tip is to always stay alert and awake during your driving time.
Below is a list of more defensive driving tips and best practices for driving safely.
- Get periodic vehicle safety checks
- Keep your car in excellent running condition
- Never tailgate
- Maintain a safe following distance at all times
- Obey all speed limits
- Slow down before making turns
- Brake to a full stop at stop signs
- Scan the road for potential hazards using your mirrors and turn your head to look out the front of your vehicle
- Give yourself extra space when you’re following a large vehicle, such as a tractor-trailer, because it can block your vision and cause you to have difficulty seeing oncoming traffic
- Slow down if you see a slower vehicle ahead of you, if road conditions are slippery, or if the vehicle in front of you has slowed down
How Can I Get a Good Driver Discount?
Save money, save time, and avoid accidents all by being careful while driving! The Portland Insurance team will be there to help you compare quotes if you have any questions about your good driver discounts. We can help you save a lot of time and money with our easy comparison tool within minutes!
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