What an advanced driving course will do to your insurance premium

It’s a commonly-held belief that doing an advanced driving course and submitting the certificate to your insurer will lead to immediate discounts on your monthly car insurance premium.

While we’ve heard this anecdote being repeated by average motorists and professional driving instructors alike, it generally won’t happen.

This doesn’t mean an advanced driving course isn’t a valuable, as well as fun thing to do, especially to better prepare yourself for our country’s treacherous roads.

TopAuto reached out to major vehicle insurers in South Africa to find out their stance on clients doing advanced driving courses, and whether these courses will truly have any benefits in terms of what you pay each month.

King Price

King Price said it does not have sufficient data on the influence that an advanced driving course makes in terms of accident risks, and thus the completion thereof will not immediately decrease its clients’ monthly insurance premiums.

“Completing an advanced driving course will not have an immediate effect on your policy or on your premium,” said Wynand van Vuuren, King Price client experience partner.

Generally, an individual who has completed such a driving seminar will be a safer driver and will be better equipped to handle stressful situations on the road, which could lead to fewer claims.

“Therefore, over a longer period, you will have a better claims record, and therefore a lower premium,” said Van Vuuren.

MiWay

MiWay does not consider the fact that a client has completed an advanced driving course when determining that client’s premium, said the insurer.

“MiWay does not factor [an advanced driving certificate] in when underwriting vehicles, thus it will not have any impact on the client’s policy and monthly premium,” said MiWay.

The insurer said the completion of such a course will have no immediate benefits in terms of a discount on your monthly car insurance premium, and it will also not be factored in when premium adjustments are done.

“We do not have enough data from clients with an advanced driving certificate to prove a difference in risk when compared to clients without an advanced driving certificate,” it said.

Naked

Similar to its peers, Naked does not take the possibility that its clients have done an advanced driving course into account.

“There are some insurers that may ask customers if they have completed an advanced driving course, but the discount on premium is usually not significant,” said Ernest North, Naked co-founder.

“It is not a question we ask in our quoting process, given our focus on keeping the quote process as fast and simple as we can.”

North said the company tries to exclude less relevant questions in its application process, such as an applicant’s marital status, the colour of their car, or whether they have completed an advanced driving course.

Factors like claims history are much more relevant and therefore each client will be asked for this.

“An advanced driving course might help you to become a safer driver, teach you techniques to avoid crashes, and reduce your risk of having an accident,” said North.

“In this way, it could help you to build a better claims history, which could help you to enjoy lower premiums in the future.”