<p>So I am not a parent, but I figured this area of the forum might be a better place to find some answers to this question. I got my car insurance bill for the upcoming year (which I typically pay for) and it was, as expected, outrageously expensive even after everything I’ve tried to do to deflate the cost–good grades, perfect driving record, AAA classes. I’m not sure who my insurance provider is, but I live in New Hampshire if that alters anybody’s opinion on the matter.</p>
<p>Now, I will be going to school in Missouri next year so I won’t have a car with me and will hardly ever be home. Thanksgiving for three days, Christmas break for a week, and then one week or two weeks max between the end of school and the start of my internship next summer, once again in a location where I do not have or need a car. What I’m getting at is, is there any way to avoid having to pay the $800-$1k to be insured for what looks like it will be at most 28 days at home with the slim chance of driving between now and August 2010?</p>
<p>Yes, in many states if you tell the insurance co. that the car will only be used for 30 days a year, it will drastically lower your insurance rates.</p>
<p>If your school is over 200 miles away they would also be able to lower your rate because you will only be an occasional user. It was a substantial saving for us.</p>
<p>Our policy is similar. Because my daughter goes to school 3000 miles away, the rate is adjusted. Of course, we haven’t really noticed, because her 16 year old brother just got on the policy with the same car,</p>
<p>We have MetLife, and they have “student away at college” rates (much cheaper!) for kids who go to school more than a certain number of miles away from home. Call your insurance provider and ask if they offer a similar deal.</p>
<p>Be sure you understand all the terms of the “student away at school” option. With my insurer, it meant not only that my daughter was no longer covered for driving our car. It meant that she was no longer covered driving any car, even as an occasional driver. That means no driving a friend’s car, etc.</p>
<p>^^^ Chedva’s experience is very different from ours. In our case, student away (more than 50 miles, no car with them) meant the student could drive our car as a “visitor” to our home for short periods of time - vacations, etc. and was still covered in that manner.</p>
<p>Same as jmmom. Our policy was for 200 miles away. I even called them up to ask them about our daughter taking the car up a few times freshman year, they told me that I didn’t have to change the status.</p>
<p>Be aware that auto insurance is controlled by state laws and regulations, so what is done in one state may not be done in another state.</p>
<p>Saying that, the best way to approach this is to discuss the situation with your insurer/agent/broker. They may have a ready solution.</p>
<p>One solution that works in some states (but not all - see following) is to drop the college student from the policy when they head to school, and add them back when they come home, dropping again after the break. This only works with companies that don’t have higher rates for short duration policies, because the addition and deletion of a driver typically means reissuing the policy. Insurers typically do not like this option, will not suggest it, and may even fight it a bit, but it can save big $ in some circumstances. The downside is that the college student will not have insurance coverage while at college, but this is not as bad as it sounds, because any vehicle driven by the student will be covered. (Keep in mind that in most states, auto insurance covers both vehicles and drivers, albeit with lots of qualifications rules and exceptions.)</p>
<p>We have Geico and their policy has the 100 mile limit. If the student is going to college more than 100 miles from home, the price is lowered substantially, and the student is permitted to drive the car when home. This is important to our family because we currently have 3 male drivers under the age of 25!</p>
<p>We live in NJ. Liberty Mutual would not allow us to drop our daughter from our policy. Just spoke with them about daughter going abroad for a semester. I was wrong, it is 100 mile with them also.</p>
Ditto! This worked well when D went off to Wake Forest, which is beyond the mileage limit. The bad news is S will be within the mileage limit, so we won’t save anything even though he won’t have a car. And, of course, he’s the one who put our rates through the roof.</p>
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SIL, who lives in MA, did this when her S was in school. It wasn’t an option with our insurance.</p>
<p>I’m in MA also, and that’s why my situation is the same as newmassdad’s and CBBBlinker’s SIL. Take her off the policy when she’s at school, put her back on when she comes home.</p>
<p>That’s why I suggest checking with your insurer about the specific rules.</p>
<p>D didn’t get her license until a few months before leaving for college. (Some kids are in no hurry!) I let State Farm know right away. When the next bill came, there was no increase at all. They said that, since she’s going to school so far away, they didn’t need to “put her on” the policy. When she comes home she’d still be covered, just like any other guest we might have that we “allow” to drive the car. So in our state, the insurance coverage goes with the vehicle. We don’t need to put her on and off the policy.</p>
<p>Bonnie, we’re with State Farm also. They didn’t require us to put the kids on the policy either–each D got (or will get) her license in the summer after hs grad and will be far away from home without a car during the school year.</p>