Insuring Your Student who is Away From Home At School

Insuring Your Student’s Personal Belongings

Parents will be happy to know that most homeowners, tenants & condominium insurance policies will extend the coverage available on the personal belongings of a “student” to their place of residence while attending school.

Some insurance companies will have a sub-limit of coverage as low as $2,500 for this extension of coverage, while other insurance companies will extend the limits of the master policy to the student at their student residence location. Therefore it is important to check with your insurance broker to verify the limit and type of coverage your insurance company will provide to your student.

If your student would have been protected from claims for damages because of their actions while living in their family residence, then the liability coverage section of your policy will extend that coverage to them while they are away at school, while still meeting the definition of a student.

Definition of a Student: Someone who is enrolled in, and actually attends, a school, college, or university and who is dependent on the Named Insured or his or her spouse for support and maintenance. This person is also insured even if temporarily residing away from the principal residence stated on the Certificate of Property Insurance.

If you are in doubt as to whether your student meets the definition required to be covered by your policy because they no longer qualify as a dependent, then it would be best to talk to your insurance broker and have them arrange their own tenant insurance policy for the location that they are renting.

Students Away from Home & Car Insurance
Before your student moves away from home, it is important to contact your broker to discuss how your auto insurance policy will protect your student while away at school. Depending on whether or not the student is being supplied full time access to an automobile owned by the parent, there could be substantial savings to cost of insuring the student as a occasional driver on the policy.

Student Who Does Not Have Access To A Car

Most insurance companies offer a “student away from home” discount that can reduce the cost of insuring your student as an occasional driver. These savings can be up to 50%, depending on the distance their student residence is away from your home.
Other things to keep in mind:

• Notification of any change in the location or status of your student to your insurance broker will ensure that you are properly protected at the correct cost.
• Accident benefit coverage provided by your auto insurance policy is extended to the student while they are a passenger in any vehicle they do not own or as a pedestrian involved in an accident involving an automobile.
• It is tempting to remove your student as listed driver on your policy once they leave home to attend school in order to reduce your auto insurance premium, but unless they are provided automobile insurance protection from another source they are being put at risk of not having ready access to benefits if involved in a motor vehicle accident

Student Who Is Provided With a Vehicle Owned By The Parent While Living Away At School

Students living away at school who are provided with a vehicle that is owned by their parents, will be designated as the primary driver of the vehicle. This means that cost of insurance will be based on their individual rating characteristics. It is important to point out, however, that the location of their school may impact the cost of the insurance, as each city can have a different rating territory assigned to it.