<p>Son is an incoming college freshman.
While at home he has been driving one of family cars, but never had his own car.
He is not going to have a car at college, but I am suspecting that he might occasionally drive in a car belonging to someone else. And he will be driving when he is back home on breaks.
Question is what to do with car insurance? Any experience college parents willing to offer advice? Should we keep it as it is? Should we suspend it and then call insurance whenever son might drive?
Campus has a rental car system, but I believe that insurance is included in the price.
Thanks!</p>
<p>It depends on your insurer and your state.</p>
<p>We did this: While D was at school without a car, we called the insurer and had her excluded from our policy. She would not be covered for anything if she drove; she’d have to rely on the owner’s insurance if she drove someone else’s car. During the time of exclusion, we didn’t pay a premium for her.</p>
<p>A few days before she came home, we’d call the insurer and tell them that she will be home, the dates she’d be home, and ask that she be restored to the policy. They did that. If it were for less than a week, there would be no premium. If longer, they’d re-add the premium.</p>
<p>When she left, we called again to have her taken off again. Taking her off had to be done in writing, signed by us and her. Putting her back on could be done over the phone, but I always followed with a confirmatory e-mail so there would be no issue if we needed to make a claim for her during that time.</p>
<p>Call your insurer and see what their policy is. You won’t be the first one (or the last) to ask that question! You could save some real money.</p>
<p>Most insurance companies offer reduced rates if your student is away from home without regular access to a car. (There is typically a mileage requirement that varies from 100 - 200 miles away from home.) This way the student is covered when they come home for breaks and also covered if they “borrow” a friends car back on campus. </p>
<p>While you can perpetually “add/drop” coverage for the student for every trip home, this won’t protect you if your kid borrows a car on campus. While the owners policy provides primary coverage in a borrowed car scenario, in most states there is nothing stopping an injured party from suing the owner of the car as well as the driver. If the owner of the car is carrying state minimum coverage - you could be in a world of hurt if there are serious injuries. Remember automobile coverage also pays for the attorney to defend you as well as the actual damages!</p>
<p>Insurance companies usually have a much lower rate for students that are away at school without possession of a vehicle. 200-250 miles is a good rule of thumb, but you should check with your insurance company.</p>
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That’s why I said you have to check with your state. In ours, it’s all or nothing; there is not a “reduced rate.”</p>
<p>We called them yesterday. Our yearly premium for S is around $700/year. They said if the college is more than 100 miles from home the rate will be reduced by about $20/month.</p>
<p>Excluding them may also waive the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage that follows family members in other vehicles.</p>
<p>Check with your insurer and get it in writing so you know what IS and is NOT covered, so no surprises.</p>
<p>In our state, we were told the kids didn’t have to be listed on our policies and everything would be fine. Things went fine until S had a collision and was at fault, then they asked why he wasn’t listed, even tho they told us NOT to list him. </p>
<p>When they were away, they did NOT drive anyone’s car. When they were home, they were allowed to drive as permitted drivers and were insured under our policies. It worked OK and as soon as I shipped them cars, we had ownership transferred to them and insurance transferred to their name only.</p>
<p>My insurance company’s distance is 100 miles for students. One benefit of keeping them on the policy is that when it is time to get their own policy, they qualify as an existing customer with the insurance company.</p>
<p>Chedva is correct to point out that this topic, like almost all insurance topics, can vary significantly by state as well as by insurance company. All insurance products are regulated at the state level. Some states mandate certain policy terms and discounts, others forbid certain items, others leave it up to each company with only notice to the regulator. Some states are no fault, others are traditional tort systems. Even between the no fault states there are large differences.</p>
<p>In my experience there is one thing that is uniform - young adults tend to ignore warnings such as “don’t drive anyones car, you’re not insured”- when there is an “emergency”. Some “emergencies” are actual (illness) others are more contrived (I need to make a Walmart run). Thus, my preference for keeping them on the policy.</p>
<p>My d went 350 miles away to school starting last year so I checked with the insurance company. They told me she already had a good student discount and could not get any additional discount for being that far away. They also would not allow us to take her off the policy while she was away at school and then add her back for the summer. </p>
<p>We ended up cutting out car insurance costs by almost 1/2 by switching insurance companies. You really need to find out the rules in your state, talk to your agent and possibly shop around.</p>
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<p>Agree. There wasn’t a single day that D wasn’t on our policy, no matter where she was, no matter whether she owned a car. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night, worrying if she really was abiding by a no-driving rule. Not worth the risk IMO.</p>
<p>Do be sure to ask about discounts for good student, or low-mileage, or anything else.</p>
<p>Great question, Kelowna. Is anyone on the thread willing to share which companies they have found that have a good policy or system for students who are more than 200 miles away from home when they attend college? I do understand that it may still vary state to state.</p>
<p>State Farm, in PA, gives me both a good student and away at school discount. But I wouldn’t recommend them now because they have been seriously pushing to have me put one of those gizmos in my car to track my driving habits “so they can lower my premiums.” Which means, of course, that effectively they’ll raise my rates if I don’t get one. I just object to the idea of being tracked on so many levels that I may switch companies on general principles.</p>
<p>State farm gives discounts.</p>
<p>Just a point if you rent zip cars. Zip cars rented to those under 21 yo are only obligated to provide the state minimum of auto insurance coverage. In NYS that was about 40K. Not much. My son is covered under our state farm insurance and even though it took weeks to get a final answer, they do cover him in the event he was in an accident driving a zip car and it went over the 40K. So do check in your state was the coverage is like.</p>
<p>I’ve been happy with AAA in CA. They took our Dd off for us while she was away at school, and would put her back on when home for vacation. It was understood that she couldn’t drive at her college, but it wasn’t an issue, as it was a residential college and she didn’t know anyone with a car or have a need for one.
She used buses, trains and an occasional Taxi.</p>
<p>S1 goes to college 50 miles away, too close for the college student discount. But we do get a discount for him as an “occasional driver”, i.e. not the principal driver on our vehicle. He’s never had an at-fault accident either, so that helps too.</p>
<p>If your kid is driving someone else’s car and has a wreck, the car owner’s insurance pays. S1 borrowed his roommate’s truck to move some furniture. With furniture piled up in back, he couldn’t see well and sideswiped another car while trying to change lanes. The police told S1 that auto insurance follows the car, not the driver. It is the car that you are insuring not the driver. Just another reason to not loan your car out.</p>
<p>^^^ Yes, the car owner’s policy is primary and covers damages to the policy limits. Just don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. Relying on the owners policy is fine for “fender benders”, accidents that don’t exceed the “serious” damage limit in no-fault states or if the owner carries a lot of coverage, such as an umbrella. However, what are the policy limits of the owners policy and the extent of damages? The victim of a serious accident is not limited to only seeking compensation from the car owner since your kid was the driver and inflicted the damage. (Both the automobile owner and driver are sources of recovery.)</p>
<p>If your kid borrows a car and seriously injures or kills someone, do you think the victim or their family will be satisfied with the maximum payout provided by a “state minimum” policy? (State minimums vary from 10k-50k for an individual injury with most in the 20k-25k range.) And remember, even in “no-fault” states you have the right to sue for “serious” injuries or death. </p>
<p>In the event of serious injury or death, the state minimum insurance company cuts a $20,000+/- check which discharges its duty and leaves you to pay for an attorney to defend a million dollar lawsuit where a judgement (or default judgement) can live for 20 years or more garnishing your kids wages!</p>
<p>USAA gives a discount if the school is 100 miles away.</p>