AARP Course Saves Money for Seniors on Auto Insurance

AARP offers a driver safety review course which can really make a difference in senior auto insurance rates.  You don’t have to be an AARP member or buy AARP auto insurance to benefit from taking this extra training.  Most of the major insurance companies offer a discount to policyholders who receive a class certificate.  My mother just completed the class, and when she told her car insurance company, they lowered her premiums by $74.  

The AARP Driver Safety Program takes 8 hours to complete, and helps drivers over 50 to sharpen their driving skills and knowledge.  It covers things like maintaining a proper distance, changing lanes safely, and making turns through intersections.  Critical issues such as how medications can affect your driving and maintaining physical flexibility to keep responses sharp are also discussed. 

One significant issue is monitoring your own driving skills to make sure that you still have what it takes to get behind the wheel.  We’ve all known older relatives or friends of our parents who should have turned in their keys long ago; one segment of the course pointedly visits this topic.

The course is available at locations all over the country at a cost of $10.  Usually it’s taught in two 4-hour sessions, but some one day versions are also available.  Some are even taught in Spanish.  There’s also an online version at $15.95 for AARP members ($19.95 for non-members); it’s self paced and allows a 30-day timeframe to complete the lessons.