Auto insurance for students away at college - questions

[tiggerluver12]

My daughter graduated from college in Arizona in May. While there her car was insured by our insurance here in Texas because her permanent address was here in Texas. Rates NEVER went up.

 

[Ranger111]

My daughter graduated from college in Arizona in May. While there her car was insured by our insurance here in Texas because her permanent address was here in Texas. Rates NEVER went up.

For most companies, (all that I know of, actually), it doesn't matter where the permanent address is -- it matters (as mentioned) where the car is "garaged" -- ie -- mostly used. If you told your company and had no rate change, great. If not, you were lucky... nothing wrong with luck...unless it is bad luck.

 

[tiggerluver12]

For most companies, (all that I know of, actually), it doesn't matter where the permanent address is -- it matters (as mentioned) where the car is "garaged" -- ie -- mostly used. If you told your company and had no rate change, great. If not, you were lucky... nothing wrong with luck...unless it is bad luck.

Actually, our agent is a close personal friend of our family and from our church. He knew exactly where our daughter attended college and where the vehicle was garaged. Didn't matter - as long as her permanent address was here in Texas and the vehicle was insured. Vehicle was regularly serviced in Arizona (oil changes and regular maintenance), then inspected and registered here in Texas every summer.

 

[kymom99]

If she is away at school, she should carry her own insurance, in her own name. If the car is hers, have her re-register it and change her license as well. (And yes, it might cost her a bit, but that's what being an adult is about. It's time to begin to establish her own separate financial identity.)

If her parents are claiming her as a dependent and taking her tuition as a tax deduction, then this hardly makes sense. Why would they want to pay more than they have to??

 

[KiniShakenBake]

The biggest concern for insurance *and I have not forgotten where I am posting* is that insurance protects financial stability. Parents who maintain ownership over their children's cars and have their children on their insurance for longer than necessary are opening their net worth to their children's driving and the liability that comes with that. End of story. The sooner you can sever that, the better. You can keep paying the bill all you want and it doesn't have to have your name on it, nor does the car title unless there's a loan that you co-signed.

You should tell your insurance company if the car is being "garaged" (or we could go with "primarily operated") somewhere else than they originally thought. I deal with it with my clients from all other states all the time when their kids move to Seattle - Insurance is WAY more expensive here. It hurts, but if they are from Illinois (which has way cheaper insurance) and don't tell us that the car is in Seattle and the kid is in Seattle and it ends up in an accident, the claim could be denied if the kid is at fault because the rate being paid wasn't proper for the risk of the city it was in. Material misrepresentation and omission is a thing that could be far more costly than the initial dollars saved. You don't want to be on the receiving end of that lawsuit from the person your kid hit because you didn't tell the insurance company the car was somewhere else most of the time, trust me.

Maybe they won't change the cost. Maybe they will. Either way, you're in a far better place for getting a potential claim covered and more importantly, any lawsuit that might result from that claim.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

If she is away at school, she should carry her own insurance, in her own name. If the car is hers, have her re-register it and change her license as well. (And yes, it might cost her a bit, but that's what being an adult is about. It's time to begin to establish her own separate financial identity.)

While I do agree with you as far as financial independence not all insurance companies function with kid away at school=off the policy.

In fact the company I worked for had a new product they introduced. That new product had a discount called Student Away with a vehicle...you had to be away from the primary residence of the policy by more than 250 miles with the student having a vehicle. You updated the policy (meaning the garaging address of the vehicle) with the address of where the student was living which likely would change the rates but the discount would act like a buffer.

So no the answer isn't really you have to get your own policy while away in school for every person; each insurance company will have different rules and each auto product will also have their own rules. That is why a person's insurance company needs to be notified. They will be able to guide the person on what their options are.

I was on my mother's insurance policy (but I was only 30ish miles away) because the insurance company and product we were under at that time that's what you did. However, I paid my own insurance each month to my mom (which I had been doing since I bought the car with my own money when I was 17 1/2). When I graduated college I moved back into my mom's house for 9 months before getting my own apartment. At that time I moved onto my own insurance policy (with a different company).

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Actually, our agent is a close personal friend of our family and from our church. He knew exactly where our daughter attended college and where the vehicle was garaged. Didn't matter - as long as her permanent address was here in Texas and the vehicle was insured. Vehicle was regularly serviced in Arizona (oil changes and regular maintenance), then inspected and registered here in Texas every summer.

Two reasons why that could be the way it happened with you:

1) The product and company you were under allowed for this and I'm not saying you did anything wrong it could have just how the product was structured
2) The agent chose not to disclose that information to the insurance company. Now this I can't say I know for sure. I don't know if there were any claims that happened while your daughter was in school where the company would have found out..but believe me agents actively choose not to tell the company everything (not all agents of course). I'm not saying that's what your close friend did just putting it out there.

Ranger111 is correct most companies take into consideration your garaging address. It's because that's where the risk is..do you live in the city or the country, do you have only street parking or a garage that you park in, does the zip code where you are at have higher crime rates or higher automotive costs depending on where you live such as labor costs, or availability of parts, etc.

 

[Bree]

Agree with the others. It's based on where the car is garaged. I live in South Florida and insurance is very very expensive. It costs my friend $3K a year to have her high school senior insured.

 

[crisi]

$300 a month plus gas and upkeep pays for quite a lot of Uber.

 

[tvguy]

For most companies, (all that I know of, actually), it doesn't matter where the permanent address is -- it matters (as mentioned) where the car is "garaged" -- ie -- mostly used. If you told your company and had no rate change, great. If not, you were lucky... nothing wrong with luck...unless it is bad luck.

Certainly can vary from one insurance company to another. Allstate allowed us to choose which zip code....the college one, or the home one, we could insure the car. HOWEVER, in both DD and DS's case, the cars never left California. 50 miles from home for DS, 200 miles from home for DD so that certainly could have been a factor. That is the kind of service I expect my insurance agent to provide, getting me the best coverage at the lowest cost. That's what his commission pays him to do for me.

 

[kamik86]

Two reasons why that could be the way it happened with you:

1) The product and company you were under allowed for this and I'm not saying you did anything wrong it could have just how the product was structured
2) The agent chose not to disclose that information to the insurance company. Now this I can't say I know for sure. I don't know if there were any claims that happened while your daughter was in school where the company would have found out..but believe me agents actively choose not to tell the company everything (not all agents of course). I'm not saying that's what your close friend did just putting it out there.

Ranger111 is correct most companies take into consideration your garaging address. It's because that's where the risk is..do you live in the city or the country, do you have only street parking or a garage that you park in, does the zip code where you are at have higher crime rates or higher automotive costs depending on where you live such as labor costs, or availability of parts, etc.

There is a third option...
The risk for the two cities was equal and it just didn't change the rate.

That is possible I'm sure if you mapped the entire country more then one place would have the same rate with the big national carriers.

I'm not sure if mine changed with school they put me on my own insurance when I got my car back home due to the number of people and cars it worked out better that way for us (and since my car wasn't as expensive and I didn't have assets to protect I needed less insurance then my parents did). It dropped when i went to school but that may have been because I turned 18 as well.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

There is a third option...
The risk for the two cities was equal and it just didn't change the rate.

My response to the previous poster was due to explaining possible reasons why it didn't matter for her daughter information to the insurance company as long as the permanent address was in Texas. Poster's comment was-"My daughter graduated from college in Arizona in May. While there her car was insured by our insurance here in Texas because her permanent address was here in Texas. Rates NEVER went up."

My second part regarding Ranger111 was not aimed at the reasons why the previous poster was advised it didn't matter for her daughter as long as the permanant address was in Texas.

So my comment regarding Ranger111 was not part of my reasons. That may have not been clear. I think you may have misunderstood me. It's unclear if the previous poster actually had the garaging address changed to reflect the Arizona address.

Ranger111 was advising that most companies rate off of the garaging address to which the poster responded-
"Actually, our agent is a close personal friend of our family and from our church. He knew exactly where our daughter attended college and where the vehicle was garaged. Didn't matter - as long as her permanent address was here in Texas and the vehicle was insured. Vehicle was regularly serviced in Arizona (oil changes and regular maintenance), then inspected and registered here in Texas every summer." Which at least to me doesn't sound like any information was changed since according to the post it didn't matter as long as the permanant address was in Texas. Maybe the daughter's status as away at school was updated. I'm not sure. But if nothing was really changed then the rates wouldn't change...and I could be misunderstanding the previous poster in their comments.

I'm not sure if mine changed with school they put me on my own insurance when I got my car back home due to the number of people and cars it worked out better that way for us (and since my car wasn't as expensive and I didn't have assets to protect I needed less insurance then my parents did). It dropped when i went to school but that may have been because I turned 18 as well.

A trade secret here...you as a customer aren't likely to be privy to the actual rating structure. Very few companies a)provide that to the customer b) have a simplistic rating structure.

The company I worked for I was privy to only a fraction of what the rating structure was like once they converted from a simplistic (well at least one you could manually rate rather than have the system do it for you)rating structure to a complicated rating structure. To some companies they may use ratio of drivers to cars as part of the rating.

So yes two zip codes in different states could have the same rate..but it could also be that the algorithm used for the rating structure coming into play.

In any case like I explained with my above comment I'm not certain any information was changed because the previous poster advised it didn't matter as long as the permanant address was in Texas. I was responding to possible reasons why it didn't matter such as the product the person is under and their agent.

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Does she even need a car at college? My daughter wanted a car and I said no. I told her to check out the U-Car on campus, use Lyft, or ride a bicycle. I told her she probably won't have a car after she graduates so why have one in college?

I see what you mean here, but every college campus is different. Where I went to college it wouldn't have been considered safe to bike or walk many places due to the road layout and weather (and there wasn't much within walking distance anyhow). We didn't have a U-Car. Lyft/Uber might be a good option, though.

If she is away at school, she should carry her own insurance, in her own name. If the car is hers, have her re-register it and change her license as well. (And yes, it might cost her a bit, but that's what being an adult is about. It's time to begin to establish her own separate financial identity.)

Not a bad idea,we always paid my husband's insurance through school and did ok, but my mom paid for mine, so it was two incomes going towards one insurance. If she's a freshman, she's only 18-19 years old. She may not be able to get a job making more than $7 or so an hour (what I made) and she'll have other expenses too, especially if she decides to move from a dorm to an apartment next year. It won't do any good for her to go to college only to work crazy hours to pay car insurance.

I'd say the best bet is for her to hold off on taking the car at all for now, unless she can check what premiums would be for her to be on her own insurance and is sre she can afford them (and will continue to be able to as her living expenses rise- like if she chooses to get an apartment in the years to come instead of a dorm).

 

[Ranger111]

I don't care if your kid is 18 and living at home with you and spends all day and night eating cheetoes on your sofa. The sooner you get that child out of your policy and your name off registration, the better....as mentioned, even if you continue to pay all expenses.

Childs' rate (your rate) will likely go up, but your liability exposure goes way down.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I don't care if your kid is 18 and living at home with you and spends all day and night eating cheetoes on your sofa. The sooner you get that child out of your policy and your name off registration, the better....as mentioned, even if you continue to pay all expenses.

Childs' rate (your rate) will likely go up, but your liability exposure goes way down.

The company I worked for required all drivers with exposures to be listed and rated on the policy. So if you're 18 but lived at home..they had to be rated on the policy. The only way to get them off the policy was for them to not live there.

There were actually many times where the company I worked for only found out that the child still lived at the residence when an accident occured.

They did adjust their rules over time but what we used to have to do was non-renew or depending on state laws cancel with legal notice (i.e. considered mid-term) if we found out you had an unrated driver who had exposure to the household. The only state we weren't allowed to do that at that time was Colorado due to Right to Protest laws.

Then they went to where if an unrated driver with the same address as the primary residence was found due to a claim they were automatically added to the policy by system automation with the only way to remove them was to provide proof that they didn't live there. It was a good way to catch the 16/17 year olds that were driving but not added to the insurance policy because the parents didn't want the increase in their rate or a way to catch those children who still lived at home even if considered at the age of being able to be out on their own. In extreme cases the claims adjustors would deny the claim but in all honesty that was rare.

The action we were able to take was dependent on the auto product they were under and state laws along with filing with the DOI.

Obviously not all companies operate that way so it is best to have the discussion with your individual insurance carrier.

 

[Ranger111]

Of course, usually drivers and exposure etc. with the insurance company.

BUT that does not apply to suit brought against parents of a child who is living in the home. IE, little Suzy runs into someone. Severe personal injuries to the person Suzy hit.

Suzy has her own policy, was driving her own car that is registered in her name. While anything is possible, the parents should have no real, actionable legal exposure. If Suzy was driving a car with another person on the registration/and/or title. Or she was driving under another person's policy, that person has a degree of legal exposure.

It's all pretty stupid, because, odds are, nothing will happen. BUT, if we all followed that idea, none of us would buy insurance, would we....and if something did happen....

Hmm, this is getting too serious for a day or so before Thanksgiving. Think I will go watch a Mel Brooks movie...

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Of course, usually drivers and exposure etc. with the insurance company.

BUT that does not apply to suit brought against parents of a child who is living in the home. IE, little Suzy runs into someone. Severe personal injuries to the person Suzy hit.

Suzy has her own policy, was driving her own car that is registered in her name. While anything is possible, the parents should have no real, actionable legal exposure. If Suzy was driving a car with another person on the registration/and/or title. Or she was driving under another person's policy, that person has a degree of legal exposure.

It's all pretty stupid, because, odds are, nothing will happen. BUT, if we all followed that idea, none of us would buy insurance, would we....and if something did happen....

True from a pure legality "I'm not legally responsible because you're over 18" yes but I was responding to the "get off your policy" aspect which certain insurance companies may not allow for depending on the circumstances.

Hmm, this is getting too serious for a day or so before Thanksgiving. Think I will go watch a Mel Brooks movie...

That I agree with. Can always take a break from the rabbit hole the DIS conversations tend to get into with a good laugh

 

[Pembo]

My insurance agent shops other rates for me. Maybe talk to the agent and see what they can do for you.