May 2, 2012

Finding Driver’s Education Courses In Your Area

For most families, automobile insurance is far from a trivial expense, and when teens start driving, it can really take a bite out of the budget. Many people head straight to their current insurer during this time, where their agent will often help crunch numbers in order to maintain their current level of coverage while staying in their overall household budget. One of their first suggestions is often to raise the car insurance deductible.

By having a higher car insurance deductible, families are responsible for more damage caused to their own or someone else's vehicle in the event of an accident. The general rule of automobile insurance indicates that a higher deductible means a lower premium.

Another strategy families use is to try to lower all of their risk factors in order to qualify for a lower premiums. Finding driver's education courses to take in the area can be one way to do this. Driver's education courses not only reinforce the lessons learned in a teen's high school driver's ed course, but often other family members can benefit from a refresher course on defensive driving, especially if they have had an accident or other citations that may have damaged their own reputation.

Conducting web searches and looking in the local yellow pages are both good ways to get a listing of driver's education courses in the area. Often insurance companies or even the high school are familiar with good driver's education programs and will issue a recommendation.

Once people narrow down a list of possibilities, it's a good idea to ask a few questions before signing up. Many things can affect the quality of a driving school and its potential to lower automobile insurance premiums down the road, such as how long they have been in business, what certifications the school holds, the condition of the vehicles and the experience of the staff.

Another thing to do to keep automobile insurance premiums manageable is to point out ways a teen is responsible. Highlighting good grades and volunteer service will often yield a deduction on automobile insurance premiums. It's good to discuss these factors with a teen long before getting a driver's permit. Some parents choose to connect the privilege of driving with the ability to maintain a good grade point average.

Still one last thing families do when facing a hike in their automobile insurance is to get online quotes from other insurance companies to see what options are available. It doesn't necessarily mean they switch insurers, but being armed with the knowledge of what rates competitors have will give them more bargaining power with their own insurance company.