The report card came home on a Friday folded in quarters in Garrett's jacket pocket, which is where all important documents in this house go to get wrinkled. I flattened it on the kitchen counter, took a picture with my phone, and emailed it to our agent before supper. It was the fastest $164 I've ever made.
When Garrett got his license on January 29, our six-month premium jumped from $1,240 to $2,380. When I called afterward to ask what we could do about it, our agent mentioned the good student discount. A B average or better, which for Garrett's school means a 3.0 GPA. Garrett has a 3.4. He has been a steady B-plus student since middle school, mostly quiet about it, and I'm not sure he understood until this month that it had a dollar value.
What it saved
$164 every six months. Our premium went from $2,380 to $2,216, effective as of the policy change. That's about $27 a month, or $328 a year.
The discount applies to Garrett's part of the policy, which is the biggest part now. Our agent said it typically stays on as long as he keeps the grades up and we send in proof when they ask for it. Different insurers handle this differently. Some want a report card every term, some once a year, some accept a letter from the school. Ours asked for the most recent report card and said they'd let us know if they need another one at renewal.
The paperwork was the easiest insurance task I've done all year: one photo, one email, one reply saying it was applied. I waited longer for the oil to drain out of the Silverado last weekend.
The other discounts I asked about
While I had our agent on the phone, I went down a list. I wanted to know what else was out there before assuming we had everything. Here's what I asked and what I found out for our policy.
- Multi-car: Already have it. Three vehicles on one policy.
- Driving-score app: In progress. Garrett has been running it since early February. The 90 days end in early May, and any discount shows up at our May 1 renewal.
- Paperless and automatic payments: Already have both. Small, a few dollars.
- Paying in full instead of monthly: A modest discount, around $60 a term on our premium. We're thinking about it for the May renewal.
- Driver training course for teens: Our agent said our insurer doesn't offer a separate discount for one on our policy. Other insurers might.
- Low annual mileage: No. Each of our cars goes about 12,000 miles a year. The Civic is the lowest, and it still isn't low enough.
- Distant student: Not yet. This one applies when a student goes away to college more than a certain distance and doesn't take a car. Garrett is a junior. We'll revisit.
What I learned from the list is that most of the easy discounts we already had, without realizing it. The good student discount and the driving app were the two big ones left. Together, they are the reason I wasn't too worried about the $1,140 increase in the long run. They won't erase it, but they'll make a dent.
What I told Garrett
I showed him the email from our agent. He read it twice, then said, "So my grades are worth $328 a year." I said yes, and that if he dropped to a C average, that $328 would be coming out of his grocery-store money. He pointed out he doesn't have a grocery-store job yet. I said he'd better get one before his grades slip.
He laughed, but I think it landed. Teenagers hear "keep your grades up" a lot, and it's abstract. A number on an insurance bill is not abstract. It's real money, and part of it is literally his.
I added a line to the insurance tab of the spreadsheet: "Good student, −$164/term, from March 2026." Then I went to find a folder for the report card, because I had a feeling I'd need it again.