Health Insurance for College Students

Question of a Reader:
My daughter will start college anytime soon. Her college is offering student health insurance. Is it okay to obtain that kind of services? What are the other precautions that should be taken into consideration?

Manny Hart

Thank you for this question.

Always be careful in signing up for a student health insurance through the school of your daughter. Some health policies for the students have low deductibles but with very low coverage limits. Remember that these policies may be dangerous to your finances in the long run—uncovered expenses may multiply and generate if your daughter eventually will encounter a major illness or accident.

It is better to have an insurance policy with a big limit on its maximum coverage. In addition, you may be able to maintain your daughter within the policy of the whole family up to age 25, on the condition that she is a full time student till that age. Some states even raised the age to 30 years old. Find out more about the rules beforehand from your insurance company. Research also whether the hospitals and doctors within her area are included as part of the network providers, or how much is the amount she has to pay if she gets a specialist out of the network.

You may raise the deductible so that the premium may be lower, which is a good deal for young healthy people like your daughter and other students like her who have just a few regular medical bills. They primarily need health insurance to cover much of the unexpected, bigger expenses like if ever, a major illness or accident. A policy with high deductible and high coverage limits will be able to do the best task of giving coverage at such an affordable price.

If your child is living in a dormitory, it is much easier. These children are covered by the homeowners insurance of the parents; better ask your insurance agent or insurance company if there are such limitations.

Ask also some information about discounts of auto insurance from your agent. If your daughter’s college is about 150 miles away from home and does not bring the family car with her, your premium on auto insurance may go down up to 30%. She will still be covered while she is home during school breaks.

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