Pennsylvania Helps High School Students Better Understand Auto Insurance

October 5, 2016

Pennsylvania education secretary Pedro Rivera and Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller are focusing on helping high school students better understand car insurance.

An interactive lesson titled “Insurance 101” was recently debuted for educators and students at Central Dauphin East High School in Dauphin County, Penn., and is now available for teachers around the state.

The lesson was developed by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ (NAIC) communications team in partnership with the Pennsylvania Insurance Department and has also been adopted as a model for other states by the NAIC.

“Financial literacy is vital for students to become productive citizens when they enter the workforce,” Commissioner Miller said in a press release issued by the Pennsylvania Insurance Department. “Understanding how insurance works to protect their family and possessions and learning how to shop for coverage, what insurance they need and how to get the best coverage for the price, are important aspects of personal and business financial success.”

The lesson presents several scenarios high school students could encounter and shows how these could impact their car insurance rates. For example, the lesson shows how poor driving decisions, such as being distracted while changing radio stations or texting and then hitting a parked car, can mean higher insurance rates.

In other scenarios, students are given a choice of going out with friends after an extracurricular activity or heading home to study. Going directly home results in extra study time and a high grade on a test, with that grade contributing to the student’s overall high grade point average and resulting in a reduction in auto insurance. Lower auto insurance premiums for high grades are not mandated, but many companies offer this discount, the release stated.

The “Insurance 101” tools are available to every educator in Pennsylvania on the Department of Education’s Standards Aligned System Portal.

Source: Pennsylvania Insurance Department

Topics Auto Education Pennsylvania

Was this article valuable?

Here are more articles you may enjoy.