<p>I've been trying to help my parents with college costs by cutting out some of the money they spend on me. Car insurance for teenagers can be pretty hefty, so I was thinking that that can be reduced somehow, right? Because I'm not going to have a car while I'm away at school, at least not this year. Since I won't be driving except MAYBE on the holidays, we should be able to adjust the insurance. Would it be worth it to call the company?</p>
<p>Yes, notify the company. Rates will go down some.</p>
<p>Rates can actually not be affected at all. We provided our insurance co. (Geico) with proof that our son is attending college 400 miles away (no car) and he is listed as a guest driver on our policy, meaning we are not paying any additional $$, the policy is based on just my wife and myself.</p>
<p>So, it would be beneficial? I was asking some of my friends about it and they said that their families have never done that and that the insurance companies wouldn’t care if I was over 200 miles away or not. It has to be worth a shot, though. When do we call? Now or right before we leave?</p>
<p>Have your parents call their agent - only he/she can tell you when and how much.</p>
<p>Call now, our insurance doesn’t change when he is home for the summer or during breaks…</p>
<p>We changed to a different insurance company that offered a lower rate for students who were more than a certain distance away (100 or 200 miles, I can’t remember) and who maintained a 3.0 GPA. We are now with Liberty Mutual. They aren’t charging us at all for my daughter who is away at college without a car and she can still drive the car when she is at home on holidays. So I would suggest calling insurance companies and looking for the best deal.</p>
<p>Your parents need to contact THEIR auto insurance carrier. The policies vary. Some plans offer an “away at school discount” for students who are more than 100 miles from home at college without a car. Others actually allow the family to remove the college student and reinstate them only for the summer. Others don’t make an adjustment at all. </p>
<p>You also need to check your state’s insurance requirements. Do some states require all licensed drivers to have insurance? I think ours does.</p>
<p>As thumper says, only your family’s insurance carrier can tell you what the effect is for your situation. I think most carriers have a discount for students living at college a certain distance from home. We have 3 cars and S is the driver assigned to one of them. He will be attending college 400 miles away. In our case, in NJ (thumper, all drivers in NJ must provide proof of ins.), our carrier, New Jersey Manufacturers, will reduce our rates because S no longer will be designated the primary driver of one car. 100 miles is the magic distance for us. S will just be an occasional driver of one of the cars once he goes to college. No need to notify them or anything when he is home on breaks or for summer. We just complete a form with the college information.</p>
<p>Julie – I called our carrier and they sent a form that asked for the location of the college and the date S would be going there. I will be sending it in as soon as we know the exact date. I assume our annual premium will be given a pro-rated reduction based on his departure date.</p>
<p>Daughter is away at college–rates went down. Son will get license soon–rates will go up.</p>
<p>Our carrier provides the ‘away at college’ discount mentioned earlier as our S will be attending school at least 100 miles away from home. Because our S has his own car that will not be driven while he is in school, our premium will be further discounted (in our case, this is a substantial reduction). </p>
<p>Our carrier recommended not removing the student from the auto policy altogether, just in case he happens to drive someone else’s car while he is away; should something happen, our policy provides supplemental coverage for any damages, etc.</p>
<p>“…our policy provides supplemental coverage for any damages, etc.” This is a good thing to check with individual policies, too.</p>
<p>Our policy with the Auto Club allowed us to take our kids off the policy entirely, which we did with our daughter. It saved us quite a bit while she was in college. We put her back on for the months she was home in the summer.</p>