NSC defensive driving course
 

http://www.geicoddc.com/

Anyone took this course? Per Geico, if I take this $19.95 course, I will save $20 every 6 months from my policy for 3 years? Looks like a win win? I have 3 cars insured with Geico and my renewel is $444/ 6 months with comp full glass no collision. If I put 2 of the cars in storage (comp only) my premium will be $175 / 6 months. The catch is once put the cars in storage, I have to wait 30 days if I want to drive it again otherwise they back charge you as if you never put it into storage.

Interesting... Might have to try that.

Allstate does the same to me RE: storage. If I put a car in storage for less than 30 days they will charge back for the time as if I never put it in storage. Makes it a pain because there are nice days in the early spring and I can't drive it unless I resume insurance, ... and then I might as well leave it on.

Leaving Allstate anyway, with all of my discounts and safe-driver record etc and being middle-aged, it still costs me over $600 for 6-months for the '87 300TD. They're crooks IMO.

Aren't insurance co's in general all crooks? Do you have collision on the 87TD?

I completed the NSC course. It was a bit tedious but worthwhile. I did learn a few things which I will put to use and change some of my driving habits to become even a safer driver. My first and only accident was within my first year of driving. I was dicing with a taxi cab on 2nd ave in NYC on cobblestone in the rain 1972. Light turned red and we jammed on the brakes, skidded and side swiped each other. I learned how slippery well polished cobblestone is. On asphalt we would have been ok. That section of cobblestone on 2nd ave (near the 59th st bridge) is now all asphalt.

Just talked to Geico and confirmed that I will be getting $20 off my policy every 6 months for 3 years for taking the online NSC defensive driving course. You may want to check with your insurance co whether they offer the same deal.

Wow! Im 27 and pay 55 a month for 300kCSL 300k Under/Unins, Comp and Coll with no glass deductible, and roadside assistance... you are getting ripped off! I'm with Geico.

Some are & create contracts that should not be allowed to be sold. I hold the individual states and regulators accountable for the rules. Carriers simply figure out how to make money given the rules.

Premium charges come down to arithmetic. My 9 yr old son will be able to do the calculations next year when he better understands division ie claims per member or insured vehicle. Add in admin charge & you have the premium. Perhaps make an adjustment for other risk ie drunk, young reckless driver etc.

As far as having to park the car for a month, rates are charged on a monthly basis. Either you pay for and have coverage or you don't. It is a really simple concept. Many people would not buy coverage and then want a claim paid saying something like "I turned the coverage on for every other Wednesday - but only if it is sunny".

Back to the OP question. Do the calculations & take the course you will get value from it - otherwise, don't.

I changed insurance compaines today, Allstate just loves to stick it to Mercedes owners I guess.

My premium on the Mercedes dropped from around $1200/year to $300/year, and it is now insured as a classic with declared-value at $9000 (all the receipts I have for this year) which is more coverage. It is even better than the AARP discount that I had quoted last week. I'm saving over $2000/year by switching from Allstate, after over 20 years of insuring cars, houses, motorcoaches, PUP, life with Allstate with NO CLAIMS you'd think that they'd be begging me to stay.

As far as risks etc., bull. Some years ago we had an '85 Jetta, which we had owned since new. We replaced it with a new '93 Ford E-150 at $27,000 (complete custom), around 10x the value of the Jetta, and our premiums went down. The Jetta would have been totalled / written off for less than the cost of airbag deployment in the van, so it wasn't repair costs, the Jetta had good safety ratings, it wasn't liability costs or medical, ... they just like to charge a lot for certain cars. It was a 4cyl auto-trans dog, so it wasn't performance either.

In my experience car insurance is like cable TV...they get you in with a low rate, then raise it after a year or two because they can make money off people who are too lazy/oblivious to switch. You have to switch insurers every so often if you want to keep getting a good deal.

I'd give Amica a call. Their rates are very reasonable, and the service is excellent. They were 1/2 the price for comp on my SDL verses AAA :eek:

-J

the higher rate on the jetta is likely due to the total lack of safety devices in the car. NO airbag, NO antilock brakes, NO automatic seatbelts, NO crumple zones to speak of... , NO daytime running lights, ETC...

The big caveat for NC drivers with classic insurance is liability is NOT covered! so you have to have two policies. total rip off. AND the car is not allowed to be driven regularly.

I did, after I switched from AIG to Geico (which saved me $180/yr), I started getting soliciting mails from Amica to call for free quotes (which had a time limit :D). For the same coverage, Amica was at least twice as much as Geico.:eek: So, shop around for the best price in your state.

Amica already knew the 3 cars I have currently registered. When asked how they knew, they said all insurance co's have access to the same database. I assume that's a DMV db?

IIRC AAA wanted about $120 a month for collision insurance on my SDL with a $1500 deductible. They said the car was worth $4000 and wouldn't pay a dime more. The agent literally told me it did not make sense for AAA to insure that vehicle.

-J

Well I switched today. My new premium for the '87 is $124/year for full-coverage $500-deductible with a declared/insured value of $6000.

Same driver, same car, same risks, ... I agree with Orv, if you don't keep an eye on your insurance rates, you're a sucker (I was) and will get fleeced.

I run a few quotes every time my policy comes up for renewal. These days almost everyone does quotes online, so it's not too time-consuming if you have the VINs handy.