Cheaper insurance with advanced driving test? One of the myths of modern motoring is that passing the advanced driving test guarantees lower insurance premiums. Based on the Roadcraft system of car control used in Home Office-approved police driving schools, the £139 Institute of Advanced Motorists test is designed to make up for some of the deficiencies in the basic driving test. And research shows advanced drivers are two thirds less likely to have an accident. So it's not unreasonable for successful applicants to expect a reduction in insurance premiums. The IAM certainly claims this to be the case. It has a relationship with insurer Adelaide which says 90 per cent of the time IAM-qualified drivers will get cheaper cover than with rival insurers. Sam Geddis, the founder of Adelaide, says: "Generally the main reason people join the IAM is to save lives rather than money. But they will recoup the money they spend taking the IAM test with cheaper insurance. He adds that about 42 per cent of IAM members are insured with Adelaide and his company has an above industry average retention rate. Unfortunately Adelaide was reluctant to give me quotes for costs without and with an advanced driver qualification. But keen to know what sort of savings I could make, I put my details into a couple of the comparison websites with first a basic driving licence and then an IAM qualification. The prices were exactly the same. According to the Association of British Insurers (ABI) the answer is to get on the phone. Its spokesman Malcolm Tarling says: "While the comparison websites are very good they may not be the answer in this case as the insurers that come out the cheapest may not take into account advanced driving qualifications. You should find the cheapest, then ring them up to find out whether they will discount for advanced drivers. Some may well, alternatively, try an insurance broker. With 95 per cent of accidents being down to driver error, it makes sense that the better you are at driving, the higher the chances of not needing to claim on your insurance are. Tarling adds: "Insurers want to take into account factors that lower risk. While taking the IAM test isn't going to stop you having your car stolen and may not prevent someone else hitting you, it is a driver holding their hand up and saying they're better than the average and should represent a better risk. The cheapest cover is cheap precisely because it's pared back to the minimum so you may struggle to get money off it. But in like-for-like coverage Adelaide is confident it can match or even better its rivals. Add in that being an advanced driver helps you return better economy, makes you better at spotting hazards and better at negotiating troublesome roads and adverse weather conditions, and it makes sense in more ways than just financial.