Advanced Driver Education And Your Insurance Rates

Sure, you already know how to drive. But advanced driving courses can still be useful. They can not only make you a better driver, but they can also help to save you money on your insurance.

In some states, rate reductions for drives who take advanced education are legally mandated. In others, it depends on what discounts your auto insurance provider has to offer.

You will want to call your insurance agent to ask what sort of discounts they offer. But typically, you can expect to pay a little less after completing any of the following courses:

• Defensive Driving Courses. These classes will teach you better road awareness, how to identify potential danger on the road, and how to drive a little more safely. In some states these come with a mandatory 5 percent your car insurance upon completion. Not only will these classes help you to bring your rates down, but they’ll also make it less likely that you ever must pay your deductible.
• DUI Awareness Courses. These classes are often assigned by a judge in a DUI case. They can help a driver to get their license back more quickly, and to reduce the penalty they have to pay with their insurer. However, some insurers offer a discount for taking a DUI class— even if you’ve never been charged with driving under the influence.
• Advanced Driver’s Education. These are also known as Driver’s Improvement courses. Some of these classes are more intensive than others, but they frequently feature behind-the-wheel training and computer simulation classes (which can be fun). The focus here is to make you an all-around better driver, with a focus on safety.

Before attending a class, do a little research on the driving school and make sure that they hire certified instructors and teach a curriculum that is in line with state requirements.

These courses can take anywhere from six to 24 hours to complete. Still, each individual class is only going to take you an afternoon.

Driving schools are generally somewhat informal about scheduling because they teach the same classes every day. So, you should be able to attend around your own schedule.