Tips on Tuesday: Cars at College
Now that Labor Day has come and gone and school is about to start, if it hasn’t already, it’s time to consider the combination of cars and college. Specifically - should your college student bring their car to campus, and what are the insurance repercussions?
While most colleges don’t allow freshman to have their cars, or at least actively discourage their presence, more than 2/3 of the rest of the student population of any given university does have their vehicle on campus. If your son or daughter is one of them, here are some things you need to do when the school year begins:
- Inform the insurance company that the car will be garaged at a different location. This may or may not affect the premium, but they have to be told.
- Laws vary from state to state, and liability coverage does also. If your student goes from a straight liability state to a no-fault state, they may not have enough coverage - adding additional coverage will cost more.
To help reduce such expenses, there are three suggestions:
- Let your student assume title of the car (if they’re over 18). This won’t save them money, but it will reduce YOUR liability.
- Actively discourage your student from letting friends drive their car - they (and you) are still responsible no matter who is driving
- Leave the car home. If the car is titled in your student’s name, no one will be driving it during the school year, and campus is more than a hundred miles from home, you could be eligible for a reduced rate.
Your turn: Did you have a car when you were in college, or did you have to rely on public transportation and the kindness of friends?
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