Have you ever heard someone say that they qualified for a Good Driver discount on their auto insurance? Chances are, if you've ever had the chance to sit in the passenger seat when they've been behind the wheel you had to wonder if someone, somewhere had completely lost touch with reality! Human nature (and a healthy dose of skepticism) aside, however, a Good Driver discount is fairly easy to come by and can save you a small fortune when it comes to your auto insurance.

What is a Good Driver Discount?

Have you ever met an auto insurance company that actually wanted to pay out a claim? Probably not, because we don't live in a Utopian society. An insurance company walking around handing out hundred dollars bills just doesn't exist.

That doesn't mean that a respectable auto insurance company won't pay for a claim when you file (that's their job, after all), it just means that they want to keep their profit margins as high as possible. The easiest way for them to do that is for their customers to avoid being involved in accidents.

Since your friendly neighborhood auto insurance agent can't sit behind the wheel of your car with you (although they often wish they could) they try to find other ways to encourage their drivers to avoid being involved in traffic "incidents". The best way they've found to do that is to offer their customers a discount for keeping their driving record clean.

It goes like this:

1) A driver buys an insurance policy.

2) They're late for work one morning, not paying attention and driving way too fast.

3) Their friendly neighborhood patrolman notices and writes them a ticket.

4) The judge convicts them of speeding and makes them pay the ticket.

5) The ticket is recorded at the DMV, where it will sit on their license for the next five years or longer.

Now, a driver that's driving too quickly is considered a higher risk than a driver that steadfastly observes the speed limit. They're more likely to have accidents due to not paying attention or leaving themselves proper stopping distance. That means they're more likely to file an insurance claim. Since they're more likely to file a claim, their auto insurance provider is going to charge them extra for their insurance.

In an attempt to reward drivers who aren't trying to reenact the Indy 500 out on the interstate, auto insurance providers have begun issuing discounts that range from 5-25% on their annual premiums for drivers who have no traffic violations on their record.

How Do I Get a Good Driver Discount?

The simplest answer to how to get a Good Driver Discount is not to cause an accident and strictly observe the traffic laws. Because nobody's perfect, as a general rule auto insurance providers are willing to overlook anything that happened far enough back that it's no longer on your record. (Most traffic violations will be wiped off your slate within five to seven years.) Keep your nose clean and try not to sleep through your alarm and in no time at all you'll be enjoying massive savings on your auto insurance.