You might feel that when you go off to college, you probably don’t need much insurance. You’re a young person, and you may not think about that sort of thing all that much. As it turns out, though, you still should have some insurance, even at such a young age as your late teens or early twenties.
Let’s go over the four insurance types it makes the most sense for a college student to have. If you’re about to pursue your higher learning and you don’t have these yet, you should absolutely consider finding policies for yourself.
Health Insurance
Some people haven’t heard about every insurance type, such as loss of use insurance. However, virtually everyone knows what health insurance is, and they know how badly each individual needs it. Since there is no universal healthcare in America, though, college students sometimes have to get creative with this necessity.
If you are leaving your parents’ home state, but you’re trying to stay on their health insurance coverage, that might work. It only will, though, if the state to which you are moving has providers that take the insurance you have.
If you’re staying on your parent’s healthcare plan, and you move to a state to go to college that does not have providers who take that variety, you’ll need to schedule your regular checkups when you go home to visit.
The other thing you can do is try to get your own policy, but if you’re in school, you might struggle to pay for that out-of-pocket. You may decide to get a job if your schedule permits it. That way, you can continue your studies, but you’ll have the healthcare you need.
Personal Liability Insurance Coverage
Personal liability insurance coverage is also something you’ll probably want as a college student, if at all possible. Let’s say you’re living off-campus in an apartment with a couple of roommates. This is a pretty common college scenario.
You might like to have parties on the weekend. You’ll have people over, and one of them might injure themselves if things get a little wild and crazy.
They might decide to sue you if they hurt themselves in your apartment, and they feel like they can hold you legally liable. Personal liability insurance can protect you from such a lawsuit in court.
Car Insurance Coverage
If you’re off to another state for college, you will probably need your own car. You might get away with taking public transportation if you live off-campus, but what if you’re somewhere that doesn’t have the best or most abundant public transportation options?
If so, you’ll want a vehicle, and you’ll need insurance if you’re going to drive it to and from class each day. If you don’t have a ton of excess money, you might purchase a used car or a certified pre-owned one. That will cost you less than a brand-new vehicle.
Different states require various minimum car insurance coverage plans. You will need to look into precisely what the state requires in which you are going to school.
You must get the minimum, but you may want to get more than that. If you’re not the most experienced driver yet, having more insurance to cover you in a car wreck benefits you significantly.
Renter’s Insurance Coverage
Snagging some renter’s insurance coverage will also help you if you’re renting an apartment somewhere close to your college campus. Renter’s insurance can protect you from many things, but theft is high up on that list.
Thieves often prey near college campuses. They know they can force a window open and grab a smartphone or laptop if there is no one around to see them.
If you have renter’s insurance, you can guard against that. It will cover your possessions, and if someone takes them, it can replace them.
You’ll want to look into this insurance type, and then you should take note of your property. It helps to take pictures of everything you own and that you keep in your apartment.
If you need to file a claim with your insurance company because someone stole your possessions, or you broke one of them, you can show them those pictures to prove exactly what you had. If you have this insurance, you’ll feel better about any possible mishaps.
You might not think you can afford all of these, but you must try to find a way. If you can’t, you may end up regretting it.
