Tuition Insurance

<p>We just received info on tuition insurance from the OOS University my d will be attending this fall as a freshman. We never got this for my s (at a private U). It's pretty pricey -- almost $300 just for tuition insurance for the year (although tuition is about 35K). My d is healthy and I normally would not even consider this, but with swine flu epidemics looming, I'm wondering if I shouldn't at least consider it...</p>

<p>Have others purchased this? Have any of you had to file a claim? How easy or difficult was obtaining reimbursement?</p>

<p>I'm wondering -- even if a child needed to miss a few weeks with a significant illness (flu, mono, etc) whether most kids just take "incompletes" and make up the work later...</p>

<p>I'm normally quite the insurance buyer, but $300 would pay for a lot of books (at least 1 or 2).</p>

<p>Thanks for any insights.</p>

<p>When my son was a freshman, 3 years ago it was only about 70 dollars and now it’ 98.00.For the price, we took it and never, thankfully, had to use it. We saved money not having to buy extra health insurance and it didn’t seem after all the other costs, very much. 300.00 is a bit high, but read the fine print and see “if” anything happened, what her options would be either way.</p>

<p>Swine flu is most likely not going to be relevant here. Mono might be, though. If your child does get sick or has an injury, there are also methods to accommodate them on campus (for instance, if they hurt their writing hand, there are scribes, and someone can copy notes for them or even record lectures if they are out of class; there are extensions available with a doctor’s note, etc.).</p>

<p>Your decision about insurance probably depends on the policies of your school. For instance, some schools require kids to withdraw if they are sick more than two weeks. Some schools have incompletes available, and others don’t. Some classes require attendance, and others don’t. It depends.</p>

<p>We did file a claim when our daughter left on medical leave this spring, mid-semester, and we got a very prompt payment for 90% of the entire term’s costs, plus some reimbursement from the school itself.</p>

<p>We have been dealing with chronic illness for a long time, and do not have the illusion of control that most people have. We always prepare for the worst case scenario. But I think that it is prudent for many people to pay $300 in case something unforeseen happens, which could mean, in your case, losing $35,000.</p>

<p>For people on financial aid, this gets complicated, but I will just say that we were very happy with the payment of our claim and its timing.</p>

<p>Just want to throw in that 2 of my 4 children had H1N1 this year and it was a non-event. They each missed one day of school with mild to moderate flu symptoms.</p>