A $15 voluntary online driving course could save you hundreds on insurance

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Car and money. Photo: State Farm / CC BY 2.0 License Link

Are you looking to pay less for car insurance? An online course could do the trick.

Susan Defee lives North Fort Myers, and she loves her ride – a Mustang. She tells us how she saved hundreds of dollars in just hours, and you can too.

One way she lowers her car insurance premium is with an online, six-hour defensive driving course.

“I’ve always wanted a Mustang since I was a kid,” Defee said. “It’s worth the time and the fact that 10% over a long haul, it’ll add up.”

Defee sees the $15 course as an investment.

The discount for taking the course lasts three years and saves her around $120 annually, or $360 over its term.

MORE: A simple change to your car insurance during the pandemic could save you hundreds

Most insurers in Florida offer a 5% or 10% discount for taking a defensive driving course.

Mark Friedlander, with the Insurance Information Institute, says before you buy the course, call your carrier to ask:

  1. The discount percentage, to make sure the cost makes sense
  2. What courses are certified
  3. And double-check you actually qualify

“Usually the qualifiers are that you have to have a clean driving record, meaning no accidents and no moving violations usually for a two to three-year period,”
Friedlander explained. “So you have to go into the course being a clean driver and the other key thing is the course cannot be court-mandated.”

Some certified courses are more expensive than others, so be sure to price compare to increase your savings.

To make sure you’re getting all of the discounts you qualify for go to your insurance carriers website and go through the list, and shop around every six months.

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