New York State has suffered from historically high car insurance rates. In 2005 New York was recorded as having one of the highest in the country by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Several factors can impact your auto insurance rates such as:
* Age and Gender
* Make, Model, Price and Age of Your Vehicle
* Your Location
* Safety Features of Your Vehicle
* Credit
* Driving Record
To offer a bit of hope, the New York State DMV allows motorists to complete a defensive driving course to get a mandatory 10% car insurance discount for 3 years. This program is called PIRP or the Point and Insurance Reduction Program. The “Point” means that New Yorkers can also reduce up to 4 points on their driving record using the same course. Recently the state of New York passed a law allowing this program to be completed entirely over the internet. It’s called online defensive driving. For many New Yorkers this is great news.
With the program avaialbe online, the acronym is suitably changed to IPIRP for Internet Point and Insurance Reduction Program. And the same benefits apply. If an NY motorist completes this course and turns in proof of completion to the insurance company, they get a mandatory 10% car insurance discount. This applies to any insured motorist in New York, and can be taken once every 3 years to maintain the insurance discount.
What’s better is that in addition to the auto insurance discount, taking the course can also reduce up to 4 points from your driving record. According to the NYS DMV this can be done if you received your points within the last year and a half (18 months). The course will not reduce your active point total to less than zero.
This new online defensive driving allows you to complete the course at your own pace, without having to finish all at once. No classroom required! The course lets students log on and off as many times as they want. Every student has up to 30 days to complete the course from the date of registration. What’s even better? The same course can be taken every 3 years to continue the mandatory 10% insurance discount.
As with most e-learning courses, this online defensive driving was created to maximize convenience and help those who do not have the ability to get to a live class. Now, New York defensive driving will be able to reach and benefit more people without having to take time off work, lose a weekend, or waste time and gas.
The online defensive driving course is available at NewYorkSafetyCouncil.com, an approved IPIRP provider.
