Insurance Benefits of Being an Advanced Driver

Seth Brundle

Again, going back to the 30% for IAM - where did you find out that there is a 30% reduction?
According to the reply I recieved from them, they *only* offer reductions for the ignition scheme (run in conjunction with the IAM). I am not aware of any discounts for passing the IAM test.

jayok

I simply rang HB and asked!

The lady that I got through to explained to me that the 30% would only apply on renewal and not mid-term (i.e. I wouldn't get a policy refund). When I went to renew I rang One Direct (always shop around) and they specifically asked me if I'd the IAM qualification! So I cannot understand why someone in HB isn't clarifying the for you.

In addition to this when you pass the IAM test the Welcome Pack you get includes a number of benefits (i.e. hotel discounts, etc) and one of them specifically states that HB will give a 30% discount.

jayok

Re-reading the thread again in case I missed something (I've was up all night with the young lad and there's a high probability I am being stupid):

The reply you've received from HB is

Hibernian:- Thank you for taking the time to contact us, we do offer a 30% discount on your motor policy if you have completed the Institute of Advanced Motorists driving course run by the IAM UK, this is the only award that we recognise. Their contact number is 056-7771778 for further information

Doesn't this state that they will give you 30% discount?

cee_jay

kbannon wrote:

Again, going back to the 30% for IAM - where did you find out that there is a 30% reduction?
According to the reply I recieved from them, they *only* offer reductions for the ignition scheme (run in conjunction with the IAM). I am not aware of any discounts for passing the IAM test.

Yes the Ignition test is run in conjunction with the IAM

But Hibernian also give a reduction if you have passed the Advanced Driver's Test (as far as I know you can't claim both at the same time.
This reduction is completely separate to the Ignition test

Bluehair

So has anyone here actually done the IAM Advanced Test? What kind of prep did you do?

I'm giving it serious consideration but would love to hear feedback from those who've been through it already. An hour and a half covering 30-40 miles sounds pretty comprehensive!

jayok

Bluehair,

Yep - I've done it and found it excellent. I actually really enjoyed it, as unlike when I done my full-license test, it seemed very applicable to day to day driving. You don't have to (as some poster said) behave like the kid in the film Excorist when it comes to turning your head for the rear view mirror but rather you've to demonstrate a "style" of driving that is first and foremost safe but also progressive.

The general parts of my test was

1. General questions while sitting in the car of my interpretation of situations that may occur
2. Moving off
3. Road positioning for cornering, overtaking and lane disipline
4. Entering and leaving the motorway (when entering - accelerate hard, when leaving - come off smoothly)
5. High-speed driving and manoevours
6. System of car control (e.g block changing on gears, braking technique, steering technique)
7. Observations - the test was 75% commetary. Included things like road conditions, oncoming traffic, potential obstacles, etc.

The test was over motorway, dual carriage and back roads seemed to cover all the extremes of road class you'll come across. It lasted 2 hours for me.

I prepared for the test by dong the ISM advanced driving course but this cost €300 (I am into my driving and it was a B-Day gift from my family). The course was a day of coaching by a UK Police Driving Instructor (and he was superb). He showed me the things I needed to do better and things I was doing well. I then practiced this for six weeks and took the IAM test.

However, the IAM run their own courses for €275 to help you prepare. Realistically, you will need to get some sort of course to ensure you are doing the right thing. Far too many drivers can be arrogant about their driving, believing that they are doing things correctly, you may not be and will generally need some guidance.

Bluehair

Thanks for going into so much detail Jayok it sounds great! I'd like to think I'm a reasonable safe/conservative driver but would definately like to learn a lot more about the 'system of car control' and the rest. I reckon observation is key to safe driving and am always trying to encourage my better half to look much further ahead than she tends too, you can see potential dodgy situations long before getting there!

Would you have a link for the ISM day-course? It's a lotta cash for a day but it sounds like it might be worth it.

Seth Brundle

cheers for clearing that up

Fey!

http://www.irishadvancedmotorists.ie/

Also, a bit of discussion about it:

http://www.bmwcarclubforum.co.uk/forum_posts.asp?TID=24096&PN=1

jayok

You need to be careful here. There is an Advanced Driving course run by ISM but this is different than the IAM course. Basically I done the ISM (Irish School of Motoring) course thinking it would give me the Advanced Driving qualification - it did not. That's why I had to do another test with the IAM for the qualification:

So to get the ISM training that does not give you the IAM qualification go here:

http://www.ism.ie/advanceddriving.php

This is the course I done its not bad, but not the IAM training

As the Fey! said the IAM website includes the training and can be found here:

http://www.irishadvancedmotorists.ie/