How to get North Dakota's insurance premium reduction, step by step

Before you start: one phone call

The law requires every North Dakota auto insurer to offer the reduction. It does not say how much. So the one thing worth doing first is asking your agent two questions: what is the crash prevention course reduction on my policy, and how do you want the certificate? Thirty seconds, and you will know the number and the route before you spend four hours.

Step 1: pick a course the Highway Patrol has approved

Only a course approved by the superintendent of the Highway Patrol counts under NDCC 26.1-25-04.1. The Patrol keeps a public list of approved online courses. Do not assume a course on NDDOT's point reduction list is on it; the two lists are separate, and a course can be on one without the other.

Our course page shows our approval status at the top of every page.

Step 2: finish the four hours

The rule, NDAC 38-08-02-01, sets a minimum of four hours of instruction. Online, that means each section has a minimum reading time before the next unlocks. Our course is eight modules, self-paced, and your place is saved whenever you stop. Most people finish in one or two evenings.

Step 3: pass the final and download the certificate

Our final is 25 questions, 18 correct to pass, unlimited retakes with different questions. The moment you pass, the certificate is ready to download from your account as a PDF, and we email you the link. Save a copy; it is the only proof there is.

Step 4: send it to your insurer

Email the PDF to your agent, or upload it in your insurer's app or website if they have a place for documents. Say what it is: a certificate of completion for a Highway Patrol-approved motor vehicle crash prevention course, and ask for the reduction under NDCC 26.1-25-04.1.

If you are fifty-five or older, say so. The statute gives you three years instead of two, and a busy agent may key in the default.

Step 5: read the next bill

This is the step people skip, and it is the one the law built in for you. The reduction must be separately disclosed, and your premium billing must show it for the person who earned it. Open the next bill and look for the line. If it is there, you are done for two years, or three. If it is not, call with the certificate in hand.

Two things that stop the reduction

• The reduction does not apply to a driver whose rate is experience-rated, or who already receives a driver education premium reduction.
• On a policy with several vehicles, it applies only to the vehicle you principally operate. Another driver in the house needs their own certificate for their own car.

What this does not do

It does not take points off your license, and it does not keep a new ticket's points from posting. Those need an NDDOT-approved course under NDCC 39-06.1. If that is what you came for, this guide points you to the right course.

For the premium, the course is four hours online and $24.99, certificate included.