While your children are away at college, they will not be driving the family car. Your first thought may be to remove them from the policy. However, this may cause issues when they are home visiting on weekends or during breaks and would like to use the car. Instead, consider student driver away discounts for car insurance.
Qualifying for Student Driver Away Discounts
This discount is intended for students who will rarely be driving while away at school. It is available to families with students attending school over 100 miles away from home. The students must also not have regular access to a vehicle while away at school. Some carriers also require students to be under the age of 23.
Benefits of Student Driver Away Discounts
Although your children will be away at school, they may still drive from time to time (i.e. while home visiting or using a friend’s car). It is therefore important for you to keep them covered in case of an accident. Without coverage, they may incur financial liability for accidents where they are at fault. Since they are your dependents, you will ultimately incur the legal and financial consequences of their actions. Lastly, by keeping them on your policy, they may qualify for discounted rates later (since they may no longer be considered a new driver).
Student-driver away discount rates will vary. In most cases, you may save between 10% and 30%. Although this cost may not seem significant compared to completely removing them from your policy, the financial implications of an accident would be far more expensive.
How to Obtain the Student Driver Away Discount
Contact your independent insurance agent regarding this discount. Most insurance providers will require some type of verification that your child is attending school away from home. Some will simply accept the school name and address while others may ask for a class schedule or paid tuition bill.
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