Cheap Student Insurance for High School and College Students
Cheap student insurance is a very different thing depending on who you ask. Some students know they can receive auto insurance discounts if they maintain good grades. Older students are looking to find cheap health insurance to supplement or replace their university-sponsored health insurance. And cheap student insurance isn’t just about a few discounts or insurance company marketing strategies, college students need all the help they can get to reduce their annual expenses. According to the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, the average college graduate has $23,300 of debt. Here’s what you can do to make sure you’re finding cheap student insurance that will tamp down your rising debt while protecting you from further financial calamity.
Cheap Insurance for College Students
The good news is that for many college students finding cheap health insurance will no longer be an issue starting fall term of 2010. That’s because the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act requires health insurance companies to allow you to stay on your parent’s health insurance policy until your 26th birthday. Of course, this is hardly a fix for everybody. Some parents don’t have health insurance. Many non-traditional students have already seen their 26th birthday come and go. Fortunately, on a limited income, you’re probably entitled to federal subsidies to help pay for your health insurance. And although you won’t be required to buy health insurance or face a penalty until 2014, there’s no reason to wait. By using an online referral service, like NetQuote, you can quickly and confidently review several health insurance quotes. You’ll quickly discover which companies offer the biggest college student discounts for health insurance coverage. Our service will also allow you to talk to knowledgeable insurance agents who can walk you through different policy options that best fit your needs.
- Extra Tip: For newcomers, insurance is often buy one, get one free. Most insurance companies offer sizable discounts for multiple policyholders. What other insurance could you need? Renter’s insurance, already affordable, can be had for peanuts with a multiple policy discount. And since nearly all college students live next to other college students, protecting your HDTV from theft might turn out to be the best insurance decision you’ll ever make.
Cheap Insurance for High School Students
It doesn’t come as a surprise to most people that teenage drivers have to pay more for their car insurance. Before you first buy car insurance, the best thing you can do is hit the books. Show recent school transcripts that you’ve earned a 3.0 GPA or better and you’re likely to receive a “good student” discount. Comparable discounts are available if you can show a certificate indicating you took and completed a Driver’s Ed course. Once you begin driving, however, by far the most important thing you can do is maintain a clean driving record. Not only can one speeding ticket or seatbelt violation cause your rates to go up, but it will take that much longer for your car insurance to start going down to a level enjoyed by more mature drivers.
- Extra Tip: Don’t buy your first car without checking on the ramifications to your auto insurance rates. New cars may be prohibitively expensive to insure, but older cars that lack basic safety features and have oversized engines are no bargain, either. The cheapest option is to borrow one of your parents’ cars, but many teenagers prefer to pay more for the freedom their own vehicle affords.
How to Find Cheap Student Insurance
Online referral services is particularly important in the hunt for cheap student insurance because some student insurance –health insurance for healthy students, for example –generates higher profit margins than other forms of insurance. Knowing this, some insurance companies offer steeper student discounts in the hopes of attracting a larger percentage of these high-profit groups. Moreover, with less data to go on, the calculated insurance risk for students and young people in general is in constant flux. Thus, you should look for shorter length policies for auto insurance, after which time you can look for cheaper rates. Or, with health insurance, you may want to look for longer term policies that will stay constant even in the event you contract an expensive medical illness that requires long-term care.
