What Do Parents Need To Know About Insuring A College Student
As noted above, if you are a parent and want to maintain car insurance for a college student if they bring a car to college somewhere else, you should let your insurance company know in case any changes are needed to your policy. Parents of students who go to school locally and still claim their parents address as their permanent address during the school year shouldnt have to change their policy.
If your student does not take a car with them to college, you could ask your insurer to see if you are eligible for a distant student discount. That way, they can drive when they visit for weekends and holidays, but you may be able to get a lower rate.
Note that if your student will not drive at college, it is likely still a good idea to keep them on your policy. If they are uninsured, that lapse of coverage may result in higher rates when they are ready to drive later. If you take your student off your car insurance policy and they do not have their own, they will not be able to drive the family vehicles if they visit. And if they still claim your residence as a permanent address and are licensed to drive, most insurance companies will require that you keep them on your policy. Distant student discounts might be able to help keep premiums down if your student is at school but not driving.
Car Insurance Typically Costs More For Younger Drivers Including Younger College Students Than For More
One of the reasons car insurance companies tend to charge young drivers more is because theyre considered more likely to be in a car crash. Drivers ages 16 to 19 are almost three times more likely than drivers ages 20 and older to get into a fatal accident, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
But even if youre a student, you may be able to lower your car insurance premium. So before you head off to school, here are three things to know as you consider your insurance options and potential ways to save on coverage.
Not Asking For A Good
Many major auto insurance companies offer a discount for students who receive good grades, up to a specific age, typically 21 or 25.
The grades required and the amount of the discount varies by insurance company.
Many parents think that you must continually get good grades to qualify for the discount, says Larry Thursby, vice president at Nationwide Insurance. However with Nationwide, you only need to show proof of one semester of good grades. Even if that is the only time in their life that your student has earned high grades, they still qualify for the discount.
Key Takeaways
- Its advised that parents evaluate their car insurance coverage before sending their children off to college.
- Its generally less expensive to keep a student on the familys insurance policy but you wont know if that is true in your situation until you ask your agent to run the numbers.
- Reviewing your insurance coverage every year may uncover good-student discounts. Some insurance companies only ask for proof of one semesters good grades to qualify.
- Many companies offer a discounted rate for students who are 100 miles or more away from home.
- It is important to continue coverage even if your student does not take the car to college so they do not have a gap in coverage, which will raise their future car insurance rates.
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Ask About Good Students Discounts
Most college students who are still on the payroll of their parents know they are expected to get good grades. If youre making a big investment in higher education, you want the good grades to show they are actually learning.
Guess what? Your auto insurance company also thinks its pretty important. There is a good correlation between responsibility and good grades. The insurer presumes that the same sense of responsibility is translated to when your college-aged student drives.
Remember, most college-aged drivers are considered high-risk drivers. So showing they are responsible lowers the risk. Because of this, many insurance companies will offer good student discounts on their auto insurance coverage. This can give your student some even greater incentive to get those grades, especially if they help pay the premiums.
Again, you may be asked to verify grades to score good student discounts.
Cheap Car Insurance For College Students What To Consider And Why
College is expensive, so it is no wonder many students are looking to cut back on their costs. Saving money on your car insurance is a great way to cut back. When it comes to finding the cheapest options, these are our recommendations.
- Geico Offers cheaper auto insurance to college students than the competition. They have low rates and offer plenty of discounts to student organization members. Plus, their premium rates are more than $1,000 cheaper than the national average.
- State Farm Offers their customers many discounts on their policies. The best discounts are for the student drivers. The company also has GPA discounts and more, allowing students to save a good amount of money.
- Metromile Offers college students who are not driving often plenty of discounts. Plus, they charge per-mile, which is very small for many students living on campus.
- Allstate Offers many mobile apps that are helpful to students who are always on the move and need to access their insurance information easily. It is more expensive, but they have various options for students that make the policy a good value nonetheless.
- Liberty Mutual Offers great discounts for good grades. They also allow you to receive additional discounts if you have taken a driving course and are under the age of 21.
This highlights the importance of shopping around for your specific circumstances.
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Tenant Insurance For University Students Is Cheaper Than You Think
Teenagers are bringing more expensive items to university than ever before. Whether itâs a $1,000 smartphone, a $500 TV, or $2,000 laptop â there is insurance for college students. Itâs not a special product, despite marketing efforts indicating otherwise. Student renters insurance exists, but itâs commonly referred to astenant insurance, and itâs much cheaper than you think.
What Is A Good Car Insurance Rate For College Students
Car insurance for college students is typically expensive, since car insurance companies perceive younger drivers as higher risk, but everyones rates will vary based on their circumstances. However, there are ways you can make sure youre getting the cheapest car insurance possible. Keeping your college student on your policy can possibly save them hundreds of dollars. You may also want to see which student discounts apply to them. Most car insurance companies offer good student and distant student discounts which can reduce your premium by hundreds of dollars.
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Do College Students Need Car Insurance
Pretty much anyone who gets behind the wheel of a vehicle at any time is required to carry car insurance, as all but two states require some form of it. Even if a student only plans to drive a family vehicle when home from college on break, that student needs to be on a car insurance policy.
Some colleges and universities do not permit freshman students to park a car in campus parking lots. Check your school’s policy ahead of time.
Best Pay Per Mile: Metromile
Pros
- Only pay a small monthly fee when you dont drive much
- Limited daily mileage charge so you dont pay too much on road trips
- App features to track and monitor your car
Cons
- Can be more expensive if you drive a lot
- Driving monitored at all times
Summary
With a mileage tracking device in your car, Metromile makes insurance cheap for good drivers who dont put on many miles.
Metromile is an innovative pay-per-mile insurance company. Insurance coverage at Metromile relies on a fixed monthly fee plus a per-mile charge. This is great for people who dont drive much, as youll likely pay very little when your car is parked. If you drive an average number of miles, you may still find savings over traditional insurance.
While its set to be acquired by Lemonade, I hope the pay-per-mile program lives on as is and adds to the offerings at Lemonade. Metromile requires a physical tracker device to be plugged into your vehicles computer port, but it only takes a few moments to plug it in yourself. Metromile only uses the mileage for billing purposes but does track your driving to make the system work, including speed, hard braking, rapid acceleration, and location.
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Cheapest Car Insurance For College Students
Shopping for cheap car insurance for students requires some research because no two car insurance companies offer the same rates. Overall, the cheapest car insurance company on average for college students varies depending on your age and driver profile.
Students tend to pay high rates for policies because they are young, and insurance companies consider young drivers to be higher-risk. Below, weve broken out the cheapest car insurance companies by all college ages.
College Student Who Lives At Home And Drives The Parents Car:
- If you are living with your parents and driving your parents’ car on a regular basis, you need to be listed on their policy. Be sure to tell your insurer that you are driving their car regularly. It probably will make your parents car insurance premium climb, big-time, but they need to know. If youre in a wreck, and you werent listed as a regular driver, theres a chance your insurance could say, Well, you know, as far as were concerned, you really werent insured. Have fun paying for all the damage.
- If you barely ever drive your parents car but you do once in a blue moon get behind the wheel, your insurer should be told that. You may find that you arent listed as a regular driver and that the premiums dont go up. It may be that the insurer sees you borrowing the car being the same type of situation as if a friend of your mothers or fathers borrowed the car.
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Best Family Policy: Auto
With more than 100 years in the industry, Auto-Owners Insurance is one of the longest-standing car insurance providers in the United States. Although coverage is available in only 26 states, its student discounts provide a useful option for college kids still on their parents insurance plans.
Pros and Cons
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Specific discounts for college students
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Long-standing history of customer satisfaction
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Good add-on policies
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Available in only 26 states
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Limited options for tech-savvy customers
Coverage
Auto-Owners offers all of the standard car insurance products most drivers are seeking, plus a number of coverage perks, such as roadside assistance, towing coverage, rental car reimbursement, and diminished car value coverage.
In particular, Auto-Owners offers an add-on policy called the Personal Automobile Plus Package. It includes coverage for stolen personal items in your vehicle, identity theft, cell phones lost or damaged during a wreck, and more. For families worried about theft or damage to a car sitting on campus, this can be a helpful policy to add.
Discounts
Like most other car insurance companies on this list, Auto-Owners offers several discounts. Whats more, some of its biggest discounts apply directly to college students. The companys Good Student Discount saves students with a B average or better up to 20%, and the Student Away at School Discount offers additional savings for students who attend school more than 100 miles from home without a vehicle.
College Student Car Insurance
Heading off to college is an exciting time but it can also be stressful. Don’t let worrying about car insurance get you down. We are here to help!
The first thing to figure out is: should you stay on your parents’ policy, or do you really need your own policy? If you need your own, we can help you figure out what you’ll need and things to think about before starting your quote. Once you’ve gathered the needed info, get a GEICO car insurance quote and see how much you could save!
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Do You Need Travel Insurance
Trip cancellation insurance protects an investment in a trip, such as an expensive trip to get to school. If youre buying an expensive non-refundable plane ticket to go to schoolor maybe the whole family is going along to send you offyou might consider travel insurance.
It can reimburse you for pre-paid and non-refundable deposits if you have to cancel a trip for a reason covered by the policy, such as an illness or injury. You can find policies that will cover Covid as a cancellation reason, if thats a concern.
Esurance: Best Tech For College Students
Esurance is known for being a high-tech alternative to traditional car insurance providers, which could be especially appealing to college students. Keep in mind though that Esurance is not available in every state.
The provider offers basic liability car insurance coverage, as well as extras like rental car reimbursement, loan/lease gap coverage, and roadside assistance.
Esurance is backed by Allstate, but the two are not the same company. Esurance began in 1999 and was bought by Allstate in 2011. Financially, being backed by Allstate is a good thing for Esurance because Allstate has an A+ financial stability rating from AM Best.
Some discounts that could help college students save money include:
- Fast 5 discount: Save 5 percent on your policy by starting an online quote.
- Renters plus discount: If you own an Esurance renters policy, save on Esurance auto insurance.
- Good student discount: Save up to 10 percent as a full-time student under the age of 25 who maintains a B average.
- Defensive driver discount: Complete an approved defensive driving course and save up to 10 percent on your monthly cost.
Finally, Esurance offers several online services and apps that make it very accessible to student drivers, including:
Read more about car insurance for college students in our full Esurance insurance review.
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Car Insurance For College Students: All You Need To Know
The less driving experience you have the more you are likely to pay for your car insurance. However, there are some ways of getting a discount or saving money on commuting to college.
The less driving experience you have the more you are likely to pay for your car insurance. However, there are some ways of getting a discount or saving money on commuting to college. To get the best car insurance for college students, shop around and try to fully understand what each policy covers. Here’s a simple guide to locating the best prices.
Do You Need Your Own Car Insurance In College
You do not technically need to get an individual policy as soon as you reach college age. Most of the time, it is a better idea to stay on your parents plan until you are more financially stable or reach an age where you are not allowed to be on it anymore.
You might need your own insurance if you were in previous accidents, as it would greatly impact the cost of your familys plan. In cases like those, you would want to consider getting on your own plan.
However, the situation varies between students. You will want to talk with your family or the person responsible for handling the car insurance at home. If you do not need to be on your own plan yet, it would benefit you greatly not to make the switch.
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Is Switching Car Insurance Worth It
Most of the time, changing your car insurance company for the company with the lowest rate is definitely worth it. Unlike banks or credit cards, changing your car insurance is easy. You can do it in about 10 minutes online, and your new policy is active. Then, you just need to cancel your old car insurance policy.
Another thing that can make switching car insurance worth it is combining it with renters insurance. College students need renters insurance. If you get a car insurance and renters insurance policy at the same company, your renters insurance can be free .
Best For Roadside Assistance: Aaa Auto Insurance
Pros
- Competitive rates and good customer service ratings
- Includes highly rated AAA roadside assistance services
- Extensive options for varying coverage needs
Cons
- Works through a complex network of regional clubs
- Not all regions earn the same high ratings
Summary
If youre worried about getting stuck with a broken-down car, flat tire, or lockout, its hard to beat AAA. They also offer decent car insurance policies.
AAA could put you at ease if you are going to college far from home and worry about having car trouble without your family nearby for help. AAA Insurance is only available to AAA members who also have access to its excellent roadside assistance program.
The biggest downside to AAA is the membership requirement, making your insurance more expensive. It also operates through a disjointed network of regional auto clubs, and not all provide the same great products, pricing, and service. For example, Californias AAA is highly rated for customer satisfaction, but AAA in the Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin region get the worst scores among competitors.
If you want AAA for roadside assistance, its likely worth comparing rates to see if it is also suitable for your vehicle insurance. Your experience will vary, depending on where you live.
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