Glossary
Good student discount, defined
A premium reduction for a young driver, typically in high school or college, who keeps grades above a threshold the carrier sets. It rests on underwriting data linking academic performance to lower claim frequency in that age group, and it offsets part of the very high rate young drivers otherwise pay.
In practice
Proof is a recent transcript or report card, and the carrier re-checks it at renewal or annually; a drop in grades ends the reduction at the next term. Most carriers apply it up to a set age or until the end of full-time study, and some accept a standardised test score or a dean's list letter instead of a grade average. It stacks with a distant-student reduction for a child at college without a car, and with driver training credits. The size varies by carrier, and it is applied to the young driver's share of the premium, so it matters more on a policy where that share is large. Parents should ask at each renewal, since it is not always applied automatically.
A worked example
Suppose adding a seventeen-year-old raises a family's premium by $2,000 a year. A 15% reduction on that portion brings the increase to $1,700, and a distant-student credit the following year, when she goes to college without the car, lowers it further. Hypothetical figures.
Applies to: Auto Insurance