For most families with children headed for college, getting the right car insurance coverage in place for them may not be high on the list of priorities. It should be. Not having the right car insurance for your college bound kids can wind up costing you in ways you could never have imagined. GEICO car insurance coverage for a family with college students has a number of new programs and established discounts that can help.
Know the coverage needs and options
When purchasing GEICO car insurance coverage for college students, there’s a good chance you’ve already established these children as family drivers when they were living at home as teens. There are special rules and circumstances that may apply when these kids head to college, whether you select to keep them on a family plan or not.
If your child lives at home and commutes to school, it would probably be in all of your best interests if he or she remains a named driver on your policy. If your child is going to live on campus and the campus is more than 100 miles from home, you don’t need to list the child as a driver on your GEICO auto insurance family coverage, unless s/he is taking a car to campus. In those cases, s/he must either be listed or maintained on a family car insurance policy, or take out an individual policy.
By having the ability to take a child off the policy for the months that he or she is away at college, families can save a significant amount of money on car insurance costs. Your kids can return home for up to a month without the need to add them back to your GEICO family car insurance policy (thought it’s always a good idea to let your GEICO agent know when they do come home for a visit.)
Ways to cut costs
While the cost of GEICO car insurance for a college student and his/her family is considerably higher than some other rates, families can take advantage of a number of programs and discounts to reduce their costs.
GEICO offers a good student discount that can help families with full-time students save. If your student maintains a 3.0 GPA or better each semester, your family can qualify for a discount. The amount of the discount varies by state and according to the type of car that you’re insuring, and it can be anywhere from 8 percent to 15 percent off your regular premium.
Because this good student discount is available for drivers up to age 25, parents can continue to save money for the entire four years (usually) that a student is attending college. (In some states and under certain circumstances, students can get this discount if they make the Dean’s List, land in the top 10 percent for grades, or if they pass an equivalency test.)
If your college bound kids didn’t take Driver’s Ed in high school, GEICO offers additional discounts for young drivers who successfully complete a recognized driver’s education or defensive driver training class.
Safe driving can earn additional discounts for your college drivers. By avoiding dangerous behaviors such as speeding or texting while driving, your college-bound kids can protect themselves and keep your car insurance rates down.
Help for college drivers
In addition to discounts, GEICO has expanded a number of supportive programs geared exclusively for college-bound drivers or for young adults heading out to establish their own lives and households. On Your Own is a recent GEICO website launched to addresses a variety of topics to help young adults tackle everyday financial decisions such as:
- Car buying
- Car insurance
- Renting a place
- Insuring personal belongings
- Managing money
Among other helpful tips on this website, GEICO dispels a number of myths and misperceptions about car insurance (such as the old canard that red cars are more expensive to insure because they are stopped and ticketed more often.)
A discount unique to GEICO
In addition to some of the standard car insurance discounts referred to above, GEICO is one of the few leading car insurance companies that accommodate families as they transition by extending unique pricing and service plans to young adults when they head out on their own (whether to college or not.)
If parents are insured with GEICO, their children can take advantage of GEICO’s Family Pricing Program. This program allows young adults to start their own car insurance policy while receiving the same rates and (most of) the discounts available to their parents. (The discounts these kids may not be eligible for when they first go to buy a policy often become available as driving experience increases.)
If you are currently a family that carries GEICO car insurance and you have kids soon headed to college, speak with your GEICO representative about getting the right coverage in place before they leave. If you’re currently a family with college-bound kids and you’re in the market for a new car insurance provider, the gecko just might be your new best friend.
(Note: this article is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a promotion or a solicitation. The author has no affiliation with GEICO, with any other Berkshire-Hathaway entity, or with any other car insurance provider.)
Featured images:
License: Royalty Free or iStock
source: Image courtesy of the State of Alaska
Jeffrey Davidson is a writer and former sales and marketing consultant with more than 25 years of experience working with financial institutions and insurance companies. He currently writes about auto insurance products and services for Reply!. You can find his article on other family car insurance considerations.