Switching cars definitely helps, but you're right—those tickets stick around. One thing I've found useful is taking a defensive driving course. Some insurers offer discounts for completing one, and it can help offset past mistakes...worth looking into if you haven't already.
Defensive driving courses can help, but honestly, the savings weren't that impressive for me. Felt like a lot of hassle for minimal discount...might depend on the insurer though.
"Felt like a lot of hassle for minimal discount...might depend on the insurer though."
Yeah, that's pretty much been my experience too. Took one of those defensive driving courses last year thinking I'd score some sweet savings, but honestly, it barely made a dent. I mean, I'm all for being safe and everything, but sitting through hours of outdated videos and quizzes just to save enough for maybe a couple coffees a month? Meh.
But like you said, probably depends on the insurer. My buddy swears he got a decent chunk knocked off his premium after taking one. Maybe I just picked the wrong company or something. Still skeptical though... feels like insurers always find some loophole to keep rates high no matter what hoops we jump through. Glad you found one that's not driving you nuts at least—maybe there's hope yet, haha.
Yeah, I feel you on that. Had a similar thing happen when I tried one of those telematics devices—you know, the ones that track your driving habits? Thought it'd help lower my crazy-high premium since I've had a few tickets. But nope...barely saved anything, and it dinged me every time I braked even slightly hard. Pretty frustrating, honestly. Glad someone out there found a decent insurer though—maybe I need to shop around more.
I've been there with the telematics stuff too—super frustrating. Honestly though, shopping around helped me a ton. Here's what worked for me: First, check comparison sites (like Nerdwallet or Insurify) just to get a baseline. Then call directly, because sometimes agents can tweak things that online quotes won't show. And definitely mention your commute distance clearly—some companies give discounts if your daily mileage isn't crazy high. Saved me a decent chunk each month...might help you too.
