Shouldn’t safe drivers who never get tickets and who never get in accidents be rewarded for their safety behind the wheel? Most insurance companies feel this way, and why wouldn’t they? Historically, the safer a driver is, the less likely that driver will be of getting in an accident. This, over time will end up saving the insurance company thousands upon thousands of dollars. That is why many insurance companies now offer Good Driver Discounts for those who are historically save drivers - meaning that they rarely, if ever, get moving violations, and are seldom, if ever, involved in traffic collisions and accidents.

By offering a good driver discount, insurance companies are accomplishing a few things. Firstly, and most importantly, they’re saving themselves money. By insuring safer drivers, insurance companies will directly be handling less claims for accidents. Since auto insurance companies will be making more money by insuring good drivers, they can offer Good Driver Discounts to good drivers, this will entice new business. Secondly, knowing that safe driving will save them money on car insurance, drivers will in turn change their driving habits for the better. By becoming safer drivers, insured drivers will become eligible for safe driver discounts.

What are the requirements for a Good Driver Discount? It will vary from each different insurance company, but in most cases, they’ll be looking for the following things:

• 5+ years of being licensed and insured with a clean record
• Have a driving record free of moving violations and tickets over the past 6 months up to three years (depending on location and insurance company)
• Strong credit score
• Law abiding citizen - specifically, no vehicular related crimes

If you fit all of, or most of the above criteria, it may be a good idea to call your insurance company and ask about a Good Driver Discount if you do not currently get a special rate for being a good driver. It may be possible that you could get the rate just by asking, or you may just have to fill out some additional paperwork to get the discount. In any case, it doesn’t hurt to call and ask about Good Driver Discounts.

Many insurance companies won’t offer discounts to drivers under the age of 21 (sometimes 25), but there are some companies out there that will offer a Good Student Discount. When I was in high school, my parents would always want me to keep my grades up just for this reason. Teenagers are very expensive to insure, so any sort of teenage driving discount would be helpful. Good Student Discount programs are typically offered to full time students who have high GPA (3.5 or higher).

Next time you’re in the market for insurance, make sure that you do your research and choose a car insurance policy that is right for you.