College Students and Insurance - Paul & Dixon Insurance

College Students and Insurance

When a student attends college, parents want to be sure that both property and liability coverage is in place to protect the student and your assets. Property covers fire, theft, etc., and liability is in case of an accident where the student could be held liable.

Coverage can be affected by the age of the student, status as a full- or part-time student, whether the housing is located on or off-campus, and whether the housing is provided by the school or is an independent rental.

Property Insurance 

Your existing Homeowners Insurance may extend protection for your student’s property while living in a dorm, sorority house, or other on-campus housing.

However, most homeowner policies will only cover dorm possessions up to 10% of what they would normally cover in the home. Also, certain items such as jewelry and watches typically come with their own set dollar limits.

If your student is renting an off-campus property, you will likely want to consider a Renters Insurance Policy to be sure their belongings are fully covered.

Auto Insurance

There are a couple of ways a parent’s policy can be credited when a student is away at school to reflect that the student will not be driving their parent’s car.

Many carriers will allow a discount of about 10% when the student is enrolled at a school at least 100 miles from home.

A larger premium reduction may be available if the student is excluded as a driver from the policy. This is only recommended when the student is attending school far from home and there is no chance of driving the vehicle. When a driver has been excluded, no coverage exists for that driver, so it is imperative they are added back to the policy before returning home.

When a student takes a car to school, it is important to make sure they are listed as the principal operator of the vehicle if this is not already the case. Also, the garaging of the vehicle needs to be changed to reflect where the vehicle now will be during the school year.

Questions? We Can Help

The insurance impact of a child living away at school often is not a simple matter for a family to assess.

We can help you determine if you need any coverage changes or additions, as well as answer any other questions you may have. Please let us help.

Receive tips like this all year by “Liking” our new Facebook page. We hope to see you there!

SEE ALL POSTS

Fax: 508-990-1784

Hours: Mon-Fri

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM

DOWNTOWN OFFICE:

388 County Street
New Bedford, MA 02740

NORTH END OFFICE:

4436 Acushnet Ave
New Bedford, MA 02745