Your Car Insurance Discounts Guide

Car insurance often isn’t cheap, but you can cut costs by getting a discount. Companies offer car insurance discounts for a variety of reasons, including owning a home, driving safely and getting good grades.

The most common types of discounts you can get are for:

• Driver history.

• Affiliations.

• Vehicle features.

• Personal traits.

• Customer loyalty.

• Policy.

NerdWallet looked at the top 10 biggest auto insurance companies in the U.S. to see what discounts they offer and how you can qualify. Note that each insurer sets its own rules regarding discounts and certain offers may not be available in all states. So, you’ll need to check with your company for more details.

Although it’s one of the largest insurers, we didn't include USAA because it offers policies to active-duty military members, veterans and their families only.

Here are the most common car insurance discounts and the companies that offer them.

Driver history discounts

If you consider yourself a responsible driver and have steered clear of traffic tickets, chances are your insurer will reward your good driving behaviors with discounts.

Accident-free or 'good driver' discount

Most insurers will offer a discount if you’re a “good driver.” The definition of a good driver varies but generally means not having any accidents or traffic violations in the past three to five years.

» MORE: Does a speeding ticket affect your insurance?

Defensive driver discount

You may receive an auto insurance discount if you complete a defensive driving course, which teaches you tactics to become a safer driver (e.g., leaving enough space between cars to avoid an accident). In some cases, though, only drivers 55 or older qualify for this discount.

Telematics discount

All 10 insurance companies we evaluated encourage shoppers to sign up for a telematics program, sometimes promising significant savings. Telematics is a technology that lets insurers track your driving behaviors in real time through an app or device that plugs into your car’s diagnostic port.

If you don’t mind being tracked by your insurer and consider yourself a safe driver (avoiding speeding and hard braking, for example), then a telematics program may help lower your premium. However, it can just as well raise it: 40% of consumers who have tried a telematics program saw their rates increase as a result, according to TransUnion’s Insurance Trends and 2023 Outlook Report^[0]

» MORE: Comparing Drivewise by Allstate to Snapshot from Progressive

Affiliation discounts

Your job, school or clubs you’re associated with could help lower your car insurance bill.

Alumni or membership discounts

Some insurers grant special car insurance discounts for alumni from certain universities, Greek life alumni and members of professional organizations like the American Library Association.

Military and federal employees discount

If you’re a federal employee or you’re in the armed forces, a veteran or related to someone in the military, you may qualify for a discount.

Vehicle-related features discounts

While new cars, cars with safety add-ons and electric vehicles can have high price tags, you can help offset the cost with a discount from your insurer. You might need certain insurance coverage to qualify, though, like MedPay or personal injury protection, and the discount may apply to those portions only.

Alternative energy discount

An environmentally friendly vehicle like an electric car can save you money on gas and insurance. Some carriers, like Travelers, will give you a discount regardless of whether you own or lease.

Anti-theft devices discount

Anti-theft devices can save you money on car insurance in addition to helping you feel safer. Multiple companies offer car insurance discounts for having protective devices like alarms or steering wheel locks.

New car discount

Many companies have discounts if your car is 3 years old or newer. You might have to meet specific criteria. For instance, Allstate stipulates that the car must be the current or previous year’s model, and you must be its first owner.

Safety equipment discount

In many cases, carriers will offer small insurance discounts for vehicles with anti-lock brakes, dual airbags or other safety features.

Personal traits discounts

Car insurance discounts aren’t always based on your driving history or vehicle. You could earn one for getting good grades or owning a home.

Good student discount

Most insurers offer discounts to full-time students who earn good grades (typically at least a B average). However, age restrictions vary by carrier. For example, Nationwide offers this discount to students ages 16 to 24.

Homeowner discount

Do you own a house? You could earn a car insurance discount, even if you don’t buy homeowners insurance from your auto insurer.

Student away-at-school discount

Students at college who leave their cars behind will naturally be driving less than usual. Because of this, certain insurers offer a discount. Requirements vary by company but usually include a minimum distance to the school and age limits. For example, Progressive requires drivers to be in school 100 miles away from home and be 22 or younger to qualify.

Customer loyalty discounts

Insurers reward loyalty with discounts for longtime customers and those who have multiple policies or cars insured under the same policy.

A word of caution about loyalty discounts: Some auto insurers use a practice called price optimization to charge loyal customers higher rates because they’re less likely to switch companies. That’s why it’s so important to compare car insurance rates, even if you’re receiving a loyalty (or other) discount. Your final rate may still be higher with a loyalty discount at your current insurer than with another company.

Loyalty discount

Some insurers reward drivers who continue to renew policies with them.

Multiple cars discount

Most insurers offer this discount if you have multiple vehicles insured with their company. Certain companies, such as Progressive, let you add cars you don’t own to your policy, so long as the vehicles are parked at your address.

Multiple policy (bundling) discount

This discount applies if you buy more than one policy from the same insurer. For example, you might qualify when you get home and auto insurance from the same company. You can usually bundle a wide range of products, from boat to RV to renters insurance.

Policy-related discounts

Policy-related car insurance discounts are some of the easiest to qualify for. They are earned based on how you buy and pay for your policy.

Automatic payments discount

Do you have trouble remembering to pay your bills? Switching to automatic payments could score you a discount and solve any worries about forgetting to pay on time.

Early shopper discount

As long as you don’t need insurance right away, you may be able to get an early shopper discount. To qualify, some insurers require getting a quote with them before your current policy expires. Others want you to get a quote a full seven days before your new policy goes into effect.

Paid-in-full discount

While it’s not always easy to pull off, you could earn a discount for paying your entire policy upfront, whether it’s a six-month or yearlong policy. If you need to cancel your policy later, most insurers will refund you for any remaining months’ worth of premiums left on your policy. Just make sure to confirm these details with your company before paying in full.

Paperless discount

One of the easiest ways to earn a discount is by switching to electronic statements, which eliminates getting a monthly bill in the mail.

What company has the most car insurance discounts?

Out of the 10 largest car insurance companies, Farmers lists the most discounts on its website, with 23 available. Insurers may not list all available discounts.

Also notable: While the types of offers vary by insurer, all 10 feature multiple policy and telematics discounts.

How to maximize discounts and savings

Insurance discounts aren’t always straightforward. Just because one company has an accident-free discount after three years doesn’t mean the next company will have the same guidelines. Follow these tips when looking at auto insurance discounts.

Ask about discounts

You don’t need to wait until you renew your policy to see whether you’re eligible for a discount on auto insurance. Review the discounts on your company’s website, and ask a company representative or your agent whether you qualify. You should always talk to a representative to confirm available discounts because terms can change and discounts aren’t always automatically applied.

» MORE: Get free car insurance quotes

Consider overall premium cost, not just discounts

Although discounts can save you money on your car insurance, remember to look at the overall cost and not just the number of discounts you receive. For example, a company that offers no discounts could end up providing a lower car insurance premium than another insurer that charges a higher premium and offers 20 discounts.

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