The Good Driver Discount

If you're a vehicle owner, you likely know the pressure of trying to find a car insurance company to cover your ride and provide you with the customer service you need, all while staying within budget.

To keep auto insurance affordable, many drivers seek out potential discounts for their policies. Insurance discounts can be available for a variety of reasons, such as a drop for teenagers who get good grades or drivers who purchase their homeowners insurance and car insurance policies from the same provider. Whatever applies, drivers will take it in order to save.

There are several components that car insurance providers take into account to come up with your insurance rate. These usually include your age, gender, driving history, what type of car you have and where you live. While all of these factors are important information for insurance companies, your driving record may reveal the most telling information of what type of driver you are and what risk you pose to filing a claim.

Driving history

In fact, your driving record may hold more weight when your insurance premium is being determined. If you have several speeding tickets or have been in a few accidents, insurance companies will probably consider you to be a risky driver. In most cases, this will mean that your policy premium will be higher to offset the greater risk that you will end up filing a claim.

However, if you are a good driver, generally the reverse is true: You will pay less for your policy. While it is possible for anyone to get into an accident, saving money is often a good incentive for vehicle owners to drive more carefully.

Good driver discount

Beyond immediately saving money off the price of your policy, you can save even more if you can qualify for a good driver discount. Simply put, a good driver discount usually means that you haven't been in an accident or filed a claim over a certain time period. To insurance companies, this means you are less of a risk and eligible for a discount.

Insurance carriers may have different criteria for what they consider to be good drivers, but many will gauge a driving record over about three years, though some companies may review your record annually to decide if you are eligible for a discount. In general, the longer you have gone without an accident, the more you can save. Typically, good drivers do not have any of the following on their driving history: