Insurance 101: Automobile Insurance - Good Student Discounts

Some studies show that there is a relationship between good grades and safe driving. In response to these studies, insurance companies have been offering good student discounts to full-time high school or college students. Pull our your teenager's report card and let's get to work!

The guidelines may vary slightly by state, but the rule across the board is that the student cannot be younger than 16 (the youngest driving age, I believe) or older than age 24 to earn the discount. The student must be a full-time student (in college that is normally considered 12 credit hours or more) and have at least a B average or qualify for "Dean's List" or "Honor Roll."

If your child is eligible for the good student discount, you will have to provide proof in the form of a report card or letter from your child's high school or college institution. The discount is generally applied once a year, at the renewal. Unlike some discounts, this is not something your insurance company is going to add to the policy and forget about. Your child must maintain a good grade average and continuously prove that they have done so. The discount will be removed from the policy at the following renewal if new documentation is not submitted.

You probably wish it would, but the good student discount does not apply to your entire policy! If your child is listed as a driver on your insurance policy, the good student discount will only apply to the vehicle he or she drives most frequently. If you have more than one teen sharing a vehicle, the insurance discount will most likely only apply one time!

Something else to consider: ask your insurance company if your child would become eligible for additional insurance discounts if he or she took a formal driving course as opposed to you teaching him or her to drive. On occasion, an insurance company will recognize the standards set by formal training programs and give additional discounts. It's almost as though your child has taken a defensive driving course, but your own hair doesn't turn gray as quickly as it might if you had done the teaching!