Summer Car Insurance Tips for Students

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Students who go to school and use public transport to get around usually do not have a car on campus due to cost reasons. In most cases, these students will not need car insurance during the school year.

However, when these students return home in the summer, a car (family or individual) may be waiting for them at home to get around. If you fall into this category, you may need to look into a policy update to make sure you have coverage, but only when you are at home as you don’t want to spend more money than you have to. Because of that, here are a few summer auto insurance tips to keep in mind!

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1. When you do not return home often or for a long time

Some students spend much of the year, including summer, on college campuses, be it for summer school, for work, or for internships. Whatever the reason, if you are on campus most of the time and only come home sparingly, i.e. for the occasional weekend, you do not need your own car insurance.

If you used a family member or friend’s car home, you would fall into the guest category because you rarely, if ever, drive their vehicle.

2. If you borrow a family car in the summer

That said, if you’re a student returning home all summer, you will likely need an insurance policy. However, you don’t need your own insurance policy as long as you are using a family member’s car.

Basically, the person who owns the car is responsible for the insurance. Still, you will likely need to be added as an occasional driver which means you would pay a lower cost since you only drive the vehicle occasionally.

3. If you live nearby and rent a family car every time you return home

With all of this there are provisions for the casual driver category. For example, if you only return in summer, you will be driving less than 25% of the time. However, if you live near campus insurance will assume you will return on the weekend, in which case you would exceed the 25% threshold.

Because of this, if you use a family member’s car every time you return home (i.e., if you live within 100 miles of campus), you simply need to be included in that person’s insurance as a full-time driver.

4. You are a car owner but only use it at home

What if you own a car but don’t take it to campus? The bottom line is that as a car owner you have to be insured. However, if you only return home in the summer, you can upgrade your policy to pay less each month when your car is in the garage.

Basically, if your car is in the garage and you don’t drive it, you shouldn’t pay as much as if you drive it to work every day.

5. You are a car owner who lives in another state

While the same rules apply to out-of-state students who leave their car at home, it’s important to note that out-of-state policies can vary slightly, and your insurance requirements may change.

If you leave your car with family members at home, it is in your best interest to have that car insured at the family member’s address rather than outside of the state to avoid these legal tires.

6. You are a car owner who lives in another state and brings the car with you

While the same rules apply to overseas students who leave their car at home, it’s important to note that insurance rules change if you bring your car out of state.

You must be insured in the state in which you live. So if you live with your car in a new state, your car must be insured in that state. Make sure you check out any legal tires that you have to skip through, especially when driving your car back and forth between states. Just do your research and you’ll be fine!

Just because car insurance isn’t necessary when you’re in school doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary when you return home. Especially if you plan on driving around a lot, joining a family policy, or getting your own short-term policy, it is in your best interest.

Make sure you use these tips to ensure that you are not spending more money than you need to, but are also fully covered until you get back to school for the next semester.

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source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/summer-car-insurance-tips-for-students/