Renters Insurance and Tuition Plans

Parents Forum
21

I asked a similar question for my first child and now have 2 kids in college and plenty of money at risk.

I researched renters / homeowners and found that the low deductible plan offered thru my schools leasing at UCLA to be a better deal than the prospect of filing a claim with my 1,000 deductible and probability of my homeowners rates going up. There are a number of student plans - but some are only property coverage and don’t provide liability coverage. So make sure it is renters insurance and not property insurance. Our school suggested www.GradGuard.com for renters insurance and ultimately that’s where I also found info on tuition insurance.

On tuition insurance - I couldn’t purchase it for one of my kids (at ASU) and was worried that I would lose nearly $12,000 in tuition and fees if my son was forced to withdraw. This year - I found a policy that cost $135 - for $10,000 of coverage so I bought it. Too many of my friends have had students with health issues that cost them money so the cost seemed reasonable.

22

There have been a few threads here about student insurance. It seems both CSI and NSSI are great to deal with and worth the cost of premiums according to CC posters.

Both DS and DD have NSSI and have had to make several claims over the years. Always easy to work with and quick payments for claims.

I would say it has been well worth the cost of the policy. It seems you can’t go wrong with either company.

23

Thanks for the information on CSI and NSSI. It is helpful to know they pay claims. I don’t like paying an admin fee to purchase the product and went with GradGuard because even though the deductible was $100 the plan included personal liability coverage which the other plans did not.

24

I bought tuition insurance this year. Didn’t want to risk losing big bucks for a semester of tuition if my son got sick or injured and would not be able to finish the semester. The school sent info about the tuition insurance option to us this summer.

Also bought super cheap renters or student insurance through our regular homeowner’s ins company. I think it was $100/yr for some amount of coverage like $5,000 or $10,000. I was mostly worried about theft or damage to the new Apple laptop.

25

I would check if the renter’s insurance policies covered hurricanes, earthquakes, or the like.

26

The CSI and NSSI plans are not renters insurance, they are ultra-low deductible loss and accidental damage insurance for all of the student’s posessions. They don’t include liability like most renters insurance plans, which are comparible to home owners insurance without structural coverage.

I think the CSI/NSSI plans are a good idea for students in dorms or greek housing since they cover commonly stolen/damaged items such as laptops, bicycles and cell phones without affecting your homeowners policy. (it doesn’t cover breakdowns). In an apartment renters insurance would work better. The annual CSI policy cost is about $90 for $3000 worth of coverage with a $25 deductible.

Tuition insurance typically covers about 75% of a single term’s tuition or tuition/dorm fees for about 2% of the cost. So over 8 semesters you pay about a 20% premium against the very small chance of your son or daughter being injured or getting sick. It is only worth buying if you cannot absorb the cost of a semester tuition+living expenses. In addition, most have limited mental health coverage and don’t cover academic performance.

To put this in perspective, at my son’s private high school, less than 1% left due to illness, and that was mental rather than physical.

27

It all depends on the cost of the plans, some are a lot cheaper than others. It might be worth it if your child has a tendency to be ill, or a condition that might cause them to be more likely to use it, or on your individual financial circumstances.

28

Our Tuition Refund Insurance Plan was $329 for the year. Annual tuition is over $50K, plus fees, room & board. The school estimates total expenses to be $70K per year, and we are not on financial aid. Plus, we would have to pay additional for a ninth semester if he had to drop out one semester for illness. If we were paying in-state public tuition, I might not have gotten the insurance, because the potential loss would have been lower.

29

@MOMANDBOYSTWO which tuition insurance plan did you go with? That pricing is great!

30

Son Had CSI, and they were easy to deal with when his bike was stolen. I only contact my homeowners insurance with a major loss.

I didn’t know about tuition insurance, but I could see the benefits.

31

@1966Parent, What company did you use for tuition insurance? Was it offer by the school? I have look in the past for coverage but was unable to find a company and my school did not offer it.

32

Also, ask the college how they handle medical withdraws. Is there any exception with financial consideration made for DOCUMENTED extenuating circumstances? What’s the process for petitioning for relief? How are tuition and housing costs considered if a student has to leave school? How does the timing impact the options (leave early, mid-, or late-semester)? That info is important when considering tuition insurance.

Also, I thought insurers were no longer permitted to differentiate between “physical” and “mental” illness for tuition insurance coverage.

33

As @dyiu13 notes , you need to check with the specific plan. The procedures should be outlined in the policy document.

34

For tuition insurance we purchased thru www.GradGuard.com - GradGuard appears to be like TravelGuard but for risks surrounding education. Remember tuition insurance has to be purchased before classes start. I missed the date last year.

35

After our student got ill, seemed to recover, went back to school, withdrew near the end of semester, we subsequentl y bought tuition insurance through Dewar’s, which was offered by the OOS university. It came in very handy when student had to later withdraw again. We got back 85% of tuition, room and board. For the first withdrawal, we lost it all. Of course, every student is different. Didn’t purchase it for our next student, because that school doesn’t offer it.

36

@auntiek Sorry for the delay.

Cornell appears to have teamed with AWG Dewar, Inc for the Elective Tuition Refund Plan that cost us $329 for this year. In reading the brochure, about 1,200 colleges and private schools offer this plan. It appears to cover up to 85% of costs, paid in the event of a student’s withdrawal from school due to: death, injury, sickness, accident, surgery, mental health conditions. I think it covers room & board if the student lives on campus, but am not 100% sure based on what I read. It does NOT cover off-campus housing or food commitments.

Reasons for withdrawal from school that are NOT covered by the tuition insurance include: terrorism, use of drugs, taking part in a riot, suicide or other intentional self-inflicted injury or sickness, nuclear contamination, general failure to attend class for reason other than injury or sickness.

The other tuition insurance company that seems to be popular is GradGuard, as mentioned by @1966Parent above.

If your school does not send out info about tuition insurance, you could call these two companies to see what they would offer you. I paid AWG Dewar directly for the insurance, not Cornell. AWG Dewar can be reached at 617-774-1555. GradGuard 866 724-4384 GradGuard seemed to have a couple of different plan options.

Note that we did have to buy the tuition insurance before classes began.

Also - Because most college kids are healthy, tuition insurance is not always recommended. However, I read that this insurance is becoming more common at expensive colleges and private schools, where the tuition is high and the student is not on financial aid or does not have a lot of merit scholarships.

37

Thanks!!

38

We purchased tuition refund insurance - and used it for one semester. I was very satisfied with it. We were able to recover 70% or tuition for the semester that would otherwise have been entirely lost. The cost per year was reasonable and the claim processing was very easy. You can look at your schools refund policy and see what the insurance covers and see if it makes sense for you.

39

if a student were to withdraw before the semester, does it mean the merit scholarship or grant? i.e. repay the full tuition?

40

It depends on the scholarship or grant. One that my daughter has must be repaid if she drops out out or evenot drops a class. She dropped one and a charge was posted to her account of $225, and no one even notified us (late charge!) Another outside scholarship was sent directly to us and I doubt they’d even know if she dropped out of collegeso we wouldn’t have repaid it.