Defensive Driving Course for Car Insurance Discounts
Written by Danielle Thompson
One of the easiest ways to save money on your car insurance is by completing a NYS DMV-approved defensive driving course. New York Safety Council's online Defensive Driving course is approved by the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (NYS DMV) to provide a guaranteed 10% insurance discount.
What Are the Benefits of a Defensive Driving Course?
An approved New York defensive driving course will teach you how to become a safer and more effective driver. Submitting your course certificate to your insurance provider entitles you to a mandatory 10% auto insurance discount for three years. You can even retake the course every three years to renew the discount.
And if you received a traffic ticket in the 18-month period before completing the course, you can also reduce up to four points on your driving record. This could potentially prevent you from having your license suspended or revoked.
Can I Take My Defensive Driving Course Online?
Our online defensive driving course was one of the first to be approved by the NYS DMV. Because you can complete the course from anywhere with internet access, you can avoid the cost and inconvenience of traveling to an in-person classroom.
Taking the course online also provides flexibility that you don't get with in-person defensive driving training. Rather than traveling to the classroom and following the instructor's schedule, you can set your own training schedule.
How Do I Redeem my Defensive Driving Discount?
Insurance companies offer a mandatory 10% discount to New York drivers who complete defensive driving training. Once you finish the defensive driving course, we will mail you a certificate of completion. To maximize your savings, present the original copy of your certificate to your insurance company within 90 days of completing the course.
Your insurance discount will begin immediately and will be retroactively applied according to the date that you completed the course. You do not need to request a new quote or change your insurance plan to get the discount.
You can still redeem your defensive driving discount more than 90 days after completing the course, but your insurer may issue the discount starting on the day you present your certificate.
How Long Is Defensive Driving Training?
The state requires all New York Defensive Driving courses to include at least 5 hours and 30 minutes of education. Everyone learns at different speeds, but most students complete our online course in about six hours.
Because the course is 100% online, it offers freedoms that classroom training does not. You can log in and out as often as you like, giving you the flexibility to learn at a time and pace convenient to you. Once you purchase the course, you have 30 days to complete it. Your progress will be automatically saved as you move through the course.
How Much Will My Insurance Discount Be?
You are guaranteed to receive a 10% insurance discount that will be applied to the base rate of your current liability, no-fault and collision premiums. The defensive driving discount will remain valid for the next three years. Plus, you can retake the defensive driving course every three years to keep your discounted rate. All you need to do is complete the course and submit your defensive driving certificate to your insurance provider.