Juggling Their Iowa Car Insurance Coverage Might Stop Empty Nest Syndrome In Its Tracks!

Juggling Their Iowa Car Insurance Coverage Might Stop Empty Nest Syndrome In Its Tracks!

For a little while, at least...

It's that magical time of year again-the time when parents are pulling out their hair, racing to the store in the middle of the night and writing ridiculously large checks to get their kids enrolled in a new semester of college. (Hey, I've seen what college tuition is doing these days. I know EXACTLY how ugly it is!) Once the chaos is done and they've started their classes (which happened this week for most of Iowa's college kids) it's time to step back, take a deep breath-and realize you haven't figured out the finer points of their Iowa car insurance coverage yet.

Is your teen REALLY ready for college?

Let's face it, in the hustle and bustle of back to school car insurance doesn't make the grade. Unfortunately, when you've got a college student getting ready to leave the nest the last thing you want is for them to be driving around uninsured-especially at college. Have you seen the way people drive on most college campuses? It's ridiculous! So before you give in to the urge to indulge in a healthy bout of Empty Nest syndrome, take the time to make sure their insurance coverage is right on track.

If They're Still on Your Policy…

The beautiful thing about Iowa car insurance policies is that there's no age limit. Unlike your health insurance, which at this point has already started marking on its calendar when it can drop your college student off your coverage, your car insurance lets you keep them on as long as they're living in your house (or the college dorms) and driving your car.

If you've got a student driving your car but living in their own apartment at college you might want to talk to your insurance agent.

There are a few things you need to know if your college student is going to be staying on your insurance policy:

a) Every Iowa car insurance carrier needs to know as soon as possible when your car's garaging location (which is a fancy name for the place where it's parked most of the time) changes. If you've just bid a fond farewell to a family vehicle so your kid(s) can have a set of wheels on campus you need to let your insurance company know. Your premiums may go up or down depending on how risky the campus actually is.

b) If your college student is going to be car-less while they're away at school, let your insurance company know about that too. Some companies will lower your car insurance rates dramatically if your child is over 100 miles away and will only be driving on vacations; however, you may be able to shave some bucks off if they're going to school close to home but only driving on weekends and breaks too.

c) If they're going to college out of state, make sure their liability coverage is up to par. Every state has its own limits when it comes to liability coverage, so if they're going to be hopping state lines it pays to make sure they're not underinsured. If their liability limits are higher than what their new home away from home requires, leave it alone.

It's better to be overinsured than underinsured, and they're bound to come home sometime!

If They Own Their Own Vehicle…

If your name isn't on the title to their car, they can't be covered under your insurance policy. Period. Unless they've been on their own for a while, or there are good reasons why you don't want your name on the title of their car, it will be a lot cheaper for them to continue to stay on your policy until graduation day. Statistics show that Iowa car insurance rates increase, on average, by 50% for girls and 100% for boys when they first come off their parents' policy because they're still considered to be high risk drivers, even though they're over 18.

That kind of monthly payment can hurt when you're already searching between the seats for change to put gas in the tank.

Push the pause button on that Empty Nest syndrome you're feeling sneaking in. Your kids aren't done with you yet! Now that your little one has flown the coop (and stopped raiding your fridge) hammering out the details of their Iowa car insurance coverage is one of the best things that you, as a parent, could possibly do for them.

If you have any questions about your Iowa car insurance policy or maintaining coverage for your teen feel free to browse our extensive collection of car insurance articles and ask for a quote that takes your college age driver's new status into account here at QuoteScout.com.

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• Juggling Their Iowa Car Insurance Coverage Might Stop Empty Nest Syndrome In Its Tracks! - Aug 28, 2009 - 11:55:37 PM