http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/Insureyourcar/P35212.asp?special=030701insure That college degree is worth something 21st Century Group (formerly 20th Century) has found that drivers with degrees in engineering are lower risks than other drivers. If you have a bachelor's degree in any number of engineering or science-related fields -- biochemistry, mathematics or mechanical engineering, for example -- you can get a discount on your auto insurance premium if you buy from them. 21st Century sells auto insurance in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and offers the "engineering and scientist" discount in all of those states. If you're a scientist or an engineer with a good driving record, you can save between 10% and 30% on the company's base rate, according to Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations. A base rate is the average amount of claims paid plus the insurance company's claims-processing fee. For example, if the company's base rate is $400, you could save between $40 and $120. "Our company's founder saw that educators, scientists, and engineers have lots of characteristics that seem to show that they're the best drivers," says Hill. "Engineers, for example, being accustomed to dealing with fine details, are somewhat meticulous, which means they take good care of their automobiles." 21st Century found that the same holds true for teachers and other scientists.
They have never seen me drive! 75 MPH talking on a cell phone, taking down numbers, and eating a big mack.
They have found much the same with teachers. Horace Mann is one insurance company that only sells to teachers and at drastically reduced rates. There are other companies that do much the same. Apparently, teachers are good risks. They don't know me very well, do they... Tom Nixon
I think that police officers should get a big discount since we never get traffic tickets, being such good drivers. Yeah, good drivers. That's it. Bruce
guess this means that anybody with a degree in marketing and sales should be hit with an extra premium
Actuaries are very good at assessing risk and correlating it to certain factors. USAA only sells to military personnel and their families. The rates are lower than any commercial auto insurance company's because military people prove to be safer drivers. (Until recently, USAA only sold to officers, but that's changed.) Disability insurance is another one. If you're an RN you can hardly get it--if you can, it's expensive. But a pharmacist can get the lowest rates available. I would imagine it to be a simple thing to correlate risk to something like education and adjust insurance rates accordingly.
Yet another good thing about completing my engineering bachelor's degree! I almost hate to ask the question -- does the degree need to be accredited, or do K-W grads get the same discount?
