Most individuals who get behind the wheel of their car would insist that they are good drivers. But if you want to qualify for a good driver discount from your auto insurance provider, it’s more than your opinion that matters when it comes to receiving as much as 25% off of your insurance premiums. An insurance company considers your driving history and your habits as a driver for the past several years when determining whether or not you are qualified to be in the “good driver” category worthy of cheaper auto insurance rates.
Good Driving = Great Savings
The benefits of qualifying for a good driver discount vary according to each insurance carrier so it pays to do some shopping around and see what a particular company offers in the way of a discount when you meet the good driver standards it has set to qualify. Most will review your driving record over the past three to five year period and reward drivers with discounts of 10% for three years of exemplary driving with no accidents or tickets to as much as 20% for five years with no accident claims or moving violations marring a driver’s record. Some carriers review the past 10 years and offer a discount of 2% each year, with a maximum driver discount of 20%. One nationwide carrier offers discounts as steep as 26% for good driving behavior.
Driving Offenses 10 Years Ago are Forgiven
Some drivers mistakenly believe that even one traffic violation disqualifies them from applying for a safe driver discount but this is not the case. Some carriers will not hold a violation or even a DUI conviction against you so long as it occured at least 10 years ago and hasn’t been repeated.
California’s Proposition 103
California residents fought to help lower automobile insurance rates for their drivers by passing Proposition 103 which requires all insurance carriers in the state to offer a 20% Good Driver Discount off their best rates even if the driver has not previously had any insurance. A good driver is considered to be an individual who has held a valid license to drive a motor vehicle for at least three years, has not had more than one violation point applied to their driving record during that three-year period, has not been considered at fault in any accident resulting in death or injury during that time and has not been convicted of a driving under the influence offense for at least a seven year time period.
Drivers who request a good driver discount from the insurance carrier of their choice don’t have to do any work to prove their stellar driving status as the insurance company has all the resources to check their Department of Motor Vehicles statistics, so it’s definitely worth checking to see if you qualify since the discount can be as much as one-fourth lower than regular rates.