Defensive Driving Insurance Discount in Texas – (What it Is and How to Get It)
Texas drivers, we have good news. With a quick, easy, and cheap online class, you might be able to get a discount on your auto insurance.
Why would you insurer care if you finish a course? It’s not that they want to congratulate you on being a lifelong learner. Instead, they care if you finish a course tailored to making you a better driver. We’re talking about a class specifically approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) and designed to help you be a safer driver.
This course goes by many names. It might be called a driver safety course, a defensive driving course, an accident prevention course, a safe driving course — the list goes on and on. Ultimately, it’s a class designed to help you be less risky behind the wheel.
If you invest the time and energy into learning safe driving strategies, your insurance provider will be glad. When you’re a safer driver, your risk of getting into an accident goes down. That means your insurer is less likely to have to pay out for a claim of yours.
With less risk in insuring you, your insurance provider can project spending less on you. And they may pass those savings onto you in the form of a car insurance discount.
Ultimately, many insurance providers across the state offer a Texas driver safety course insurance discount. To find out if you can score these savings, we’ve built this guide.
Taking a TDLR-approved Texas defensive driving course
First up, you’re probably wondering what this course entails. If it’s quick and easy, you might be interested. But if it’s going to be a big hassle, you’ll likely pass.
We have good news. Taking your Texas defensive driving course is an absolute breeze. More good news: it’s cheap.
The TDLR has specific parameters for the Texas defensive driving courses it approves. Each one has to be just six hours long. And they’ve approved certain education providers to offer these courses online. That means you can chip away at those six hours from home whenever you have free time. Some courses are even mobile-friendly so you can work on your hours on the go.
Plus, your course can cost as little as $25. All told, paying for and knocking out your TDLR-approved Texas driver safety course should take minimal investment on your part.
Really, the main trick is to make sure you’re taking a course that has the TDLR’s seal of approval. To make it easy, we post their approval and our license number at the bottom of our driver safety course page.
The discount you can expect after completing your Texas driver safety course
Now, what do six hours and $25 get you?
Discounts vary from insurer to insurer. Before you start your course, we recommend calling your insurance provider. Ask if they offer a defensive driver course discount and, if so, what documentation they’ll need from you to apply that discount.
Usually, all you need to do is send your Certificate of Completion, which you get when you finish your course, to them.
You’re probably still wondering just how much this discount will save you. Again, it depends on your insurer, but you can expect savings between 2% and 10%.
Since Texas drivers pay an average of $1,810 per year on auto insurance, these savings can quickly add up. Let’s say your insurer offers you a 5% discount for completing your driver safety course. Assuming you pay $1,810 annually, you’ll save $90 on your premiums that year. Even with the $25 course fee, you’re pocketing $65.
But the savings don’t stop there. Many insurers will continue to offer you the discount for three years after you take the course. Subtracting the course cost, you’re saving $245 over three years with a 5% discount. If your insurer offers you a discount of 10%, you can expect to save more than $500, even factoring in the course cost.
Maintaining your car insurance discount
Your Texas driver safety course insurance discount doesn’t have to be a one-and-done deal, either. Most insurers will renew the discount if you retake the defensive driving course whenever your discount expires.
Ask your insurer for the specifics. If you know their timeline for the discount’s expiration, you can plan ahead and submit a new Certificate of Completion before that date to keep your discount in place long-term.
FAQs
Who qualifies for the discount?
Excellent question. Most drivers can qualify for this discount, but there is one important exception.
If you were required to take a Texas defensive driving course after a traffic ticket, you most likely won’t qualify for the discount. Most insurers don’t offer these savings if you take the course because it was court-ordered.
Also, some insurers only offer defensive driver course discounts based on age groups. For example, USAA offers these savings to drivers under 25, while Nationwide and Farmers both publicize their defensive driving course discount for seniors.
How much of a discount do you get for completing a defensive driving course?
This discount can range from 2% to 10%. With the average Texas driver paying about $1,800 in auto insurance premiums each year, you can expect savings anywhere from about $40 to well over $150 each year.
It all depends on your insurance provider, though. Give them a call to ask if they offer this discount in the first place and, if so, how much you can expect to save. With that information, you can crunch the numbers yourself to find out if the course is worth it. (Remember, the course itself costs just $25.)
What insurance companies give discounts for defensive driving?
Many insurers across the state offer a defensive driving course insurance discount to Texas drivers. Here are just a few examples:
Some of these insurers list age restrictions on their defensive driving course discounts on their websites, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be 55+ to land this discount. Call your insurance provider to ask about their Texas driver safety course insurance discount.