Senior Auto Insurance

Reader’s Question:

I’m trying to find senior auto insurance for my father, who has just turned 52. Isn’t he entitled to some discounts?

Hannah

Winston-Salem, NC

My father is about the same age as yours, Hannah, perhaps just a bit older. Anyway, from what I heard before, it’s not really automatic for all senior citizens of the U.S. to avail themselves of auto insurance discounts. However, if you are patient enough, do the shopping, and you will certainly find many auto insurance companies which offer special discounts to citizens over 50. Many of them are willing to slash your auto insurance premium by 5% to 10%, and that’s not bad at all.

Not only that, you may have your father take defensive driving courses. The safer he becomes as a driver, the more discounts he may receive. If he does well in a defensive driving course, many companies will offer him senior auto insurance with lower premiums. This is even mandatory in certain states. You may check out National Safety Council at www.nsc.com to find out how and where you can enroll in North Carolina.

The most important thing of course is to first get in touch with your auto insurance agent. You must confirm whether or not they have discounts and what would make your father eligible. At the end of the day, this is really up to the insurer. Good luck with the shopping.