- Sponsored by Berkshire Insurance Group and The Hanover Insurance Group -
- Also Available to Adults, Earns Insurance Discount -
PITTSFIELD, Mass. (November 10, 2011) – Berkshire Insurance Group, a Berkshire Bank affiliate, and The Hanover Insurance Group today announced they will sponsor the highly-regarded In Control Crash Prevention safe driving program for 40 lucky high school students in Western, Mass.*
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20051031/NEM023LOGO )
Students will be selected by random drawing from entries received at participating high schools and Berkshire Bank and Berkshire Insurance Group locations throughout Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley. Selected students will attend In Control's four-and-a-half-hour program free of charge. The program -- valued at $350 -- will be held at Barnes Airport in Westfield on Saturday, December 10.
With more than 20,000 graduates, the state-certified In Control Crash Prevention Training program has proven to save lives and significantly reduce crashes involving participating drivers.
Participants will be taught the skills they need to avoid the most common and serious accidents. Through a series of fun, hands-on, safe and controlled driving drills, they will learn how to avoid accidents at highway speeds; how to handle tailgaters; how to use ABS brakes; and how to properly make emergency lane changes.
On Friday, December 9, and Sunday, December 11, Berkshire Insurance Group and The Hanover also will offer discounted In Control courses at the Barnes Airport location to interested teens and adults.
Registrants receive a preferred Hanover rate of 15% discount off the course price, paying just $297.50 for the first family member and just $195.50 for all additional family members. Drivers who complete the course additionally will be eligible for up to a 10% discount for up to five years on their auto insurance premium.
"We are thrilled to partner with Berkshire Insurance Group to sponsor this valuable course," said Edward C. Ruhl, regional vice president at The Hanover Insurance Group. "It is our hope that this training, combined with our program discount, will help to raise awareness of the importance of safe driving and ultimately help improve the safety of our roads."
"We are especially pleased and proud to be able to offer this contest for local teens and a discount for local residents in collaboration with The Hanover," said James Herrick, Jr., vice president of personal lines at Berkshire Insurance Group. "Driving accidents are the leading cause of death of teens nationwide. The In Control program can help all drivers take their driving skills to the next level -- which may ultimately save lives."
Eligible students (those with a valid Massachusetts driver's permit or license) can qualify by submitting a completed application form, signed by a parent and attached to a copy of their license or permit to a drop-box in their participating high schools and at all Berkshire Bank and Berkshire Insurance Group locations in Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley.
Students and parents can pick up materials in the main office of a participating high school or at any Berkshire Bank or Berkshire Insurance Group office in Berkshire County and the Pioneer Valley, or call The Hanover at (508) 855-6366. Registration is available through November 28, and award recipients will be notified by December 2.
To learn more about the In Control discount or to sign-up for a discounted course, adults and teens can visit www.driveincontrol.com/Hanover where they can watch a course video as well as sign-up for the discounted rate using the code "Hanover."
About In Control Advanced Driver Training
In Control was founded in 2003 in an effort to lower the number of crashes caused by driver error. Automobile crashes are the number one killer of people under 45 and In Control's program has been found to reduce crash rates in new drivers by 70 percent.
The half-day In Control program is an extreme crash prevention training course designed to not only teach participants the appropriate way to respond to unavoidable, real-life road situations, but also to instill lifelong attitudes that make safer drivers. This closed course hands-on education was adapted from existing law enforcement training as well as European closed course, hands-on instruction.
In Control is the first state certified training of this kind in the United States and graduates, regardless of driving experience, qualify to receive auto insurance discounts up to 10%. In Control has trained over 20,000 students and receives limitless praise from graduates, parents, schools, police departments, insurance companies, legislators and community groups all over New England.
The course is held on closed airport runways and other large paved areas where students are able to practice emergency maneuvers in a safe environment. In Control operates a fixed site facility in North Andover as well as a Mobile Crash Prevention Classroom which serves locations throughout New England. For more information about In Control's crash prevention training, please visit: www.DriveInControl.com/hanover.
About Berkshire Bank
Berkshire Hills Bancorp is the parent of Berkshire Bank, America's Most Exciting Bank(SM), and has more than $4 billion in assets. The company has more than 60 full service branch offices in Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont providing personal and business banking, insurance, and wealth management services. Berkshire Bank provides 100% deposit insurance protection for all deposit accounts, regardless of amount, based on a combination of FDIC insurance and the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). For more information, visit www.berkshirebank.com or call 800-773-5601.
About Berkshire Insurance Group
Berkshire Insurance Group, a Berkshire Bank affiliate, is a leader in providing insurance coverage for individuals, families, and businesses in western Massachusetts. It operates offices in Dalton, Great Barrington, Greenfield, Longmeadow, Pittsfield, Shelburne Falls, South Deerfield, Stockbridge, and Westfield, Massachusetts and sells all lines of insurance in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Connecticut. The group provides property and casualty, life, disability, and other forms of insurance coverage. For more information, visit www.berkshireinsurancegroup.com, or call 866-636-0244.
About The Hanover
The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc., based in Worcester, Mass., is the holding company for a group of insurers that includes The Hanover Insurance Company, also based in Worcester, Citizens Insurance Company of America, headquartered in Howell, Michigan and Chaucer Holdings PLC, based in London, and their affiliates. The Hanover offers a wide range of property and casualty products and services to businesses, individuals, and families through a select group of agents and brokers.
The company is ranked among the top 25 property and casualty insurers in the United States and has been meeting its obligations to its agent partners and their customers for nearly 160 years. Through Chaucer, the company also underwrites business at Lloyd's in all major insurance and reinsurance classes, balancing global marine, energy, non-marine and aviation with U.K. motor and nuclear. For more information, please visit www.hanover.com.
*Berkshire Insurance Group, a Berkshire Bank affiliate, The Hanover Insurance Group, and the local high school are not responsible for or connected with any aspect of this program and participation is the sole decision and responsibility of the parent/guardian.
/PRNewswire -- Nov. 10, 2011/
SOURCE The Hanover Insurance Group, Inc.