If your college-bound children need to maintain car insurance coverage, Farmers has a number of options
As your teenage driver prepares to go to college, you will probably need to make some adjustments to your family's auto insurance policy. Keeping or adding college students to your Farmers family car insurance coverage can be seamless, but there are some issues you should consider.
How much will they drive?
The first thing to consider is how much your child will be driving. Many colleges do not allow first-year students to bring a car to campus, so your child may only be driving when at home on a school break. Your Farmers insurance agent can help to amend your family policy so that you are not paying premiums for a driver who is not using a vehicle very much.
If your student is taking a vehicle to school, your Farmers agent can help you to determine if there are any changes that you should make to your policy. You may opt to add extra liability and collision coverage to protect your son or daughter against the possibility of an accident while s/he’s away at school.
Parents of children living at home for college do not need to make changes to existing insurance policies; however, you may still want to add additional coverage just for peace of mind, especially if your student will be commuting to classes or campus.
Get a free quote for your college-bound child's car insurance coverage today
Ask about discounts
One thing that parents sometimes forget about is the possibility of receiving discounts for college students that are added to or maintained on a Farmers family car insurance policy. Farmers offers a number of discounts that may apply including:
- Safe driver discounts
- Teen driver safety awareness discounts
- Good student discount
Farmers car insurance for college students can vary in cost depending on several factors, so be sure to take advantage of all available discounts.
College students needing car insurance from Farmers can also apply for a policy separately if parents don't want to include students on a family or couple’s insurance. It is important to remember that a child's car insurance premiums (even with discounts) can be considerably high because of age or lack of driving history. For this reason, many parents opt to keep children on the family policy until the age of 25.
Before your child leaves for college, you should all have a serious conversation about safe driving. It is important to reinforce safety issues like drinking and driving and texting while driving, as you won't be there every day to monitor your child's driving. Make sure that you explain that distracted driving can lead to accidents and higher insurance costs for the whole family or worse, accidents that leave irreparable injuries.
Be aware of state laws
One final consideration when you send a son or daughter off to college and consider what level of car insurance coverage s/he might need is to be sure your student is in compliance with the state laws for car insurance requirements wherever s/he is going to school. Some states offer exceptions for “temporary” residents and some states accept the car insurance coverage requirements for students who are in compliance with the rules of their “state of residency”. But you don’t want any surprises, so check the rules before you send you son or daughter off to campus.
(Acquaint yourself with all the car insurance options Farmers offers)
Having the support and counsel of an experienced insurance professional will help you when you consider how you should handle a son or daughter heading off to college, Reply! can assist you in this process by connecting you with local insurance professionals who can guide you toward the best possible option for you, your family and your college-bound kids.