September is back-to-school month, and that means several university students will soon be leaving the nest (and maybe even the car) behind.
If your child is going away to post-secondary school and is listed on your auto insurance policy, it’s time to give your auto insurance provider a call. If it can lead to a lower auto insurance rate, then it’s a call worth making.
Student discounts help parents save
Many auto insurance companies offer discounts designed to help parents keep a lid on the cost of auto insurance, and there are three discounts worth exploring:
- Student-away-from-home-discount: If your college-bound child will be attending school in another city or province, their time behind the wheel will be limited to holidays, school breaks, and the occasional trip home for the weekend. Many insurance providers offer a discount for listing them on your policy.
- Good student discount: As the proud parent of a college or university student, keep in mind that their good grades are worth bragging about — especially since it may result in a lower premium.
- Driver’s training discount: If your child is on their way to becoming a full licensed driver, it might be worth adding one more class to their schedule – a driver’s training course. You could save hundreds of dollars each year on your premium, for typically up to three years, after your child has successfully passed the course.
Are you sending your child off to school with the car?
If your child is taking one of your cars to school, or you’re planning on buying them one to get around campus (and to classes on time), a call to your auto insurance provider should still be in the books. If the vehicle is in your name, you can list it on your existing auto insurance policy to take advantage of multi-vehicle discounts.
However, taking a car to school full-time may turn out to be costly, even with the discount. Since your young driver will no longer be an occasional driver, they’ll need to be listed as the primary driver to ensure the policy accurately reflects who is driving the vehicle most often. Otherwise, you risk jeopardizing the coverage they’ll need, should there be a reason to submit a claim.
See what mark your insurance provider gets when you shop around
Is your premium making the grade? Give your auto insurance provider a pop quiz to find out. Compare auto insurance quotes on InsuranceHotline.com, where drivers save an average of $744* annually.
*Shoppers in Ontario who obtained a quote on InsuranceHotline.com from October to December 2021 saved an average of $744 per year. The average savings represents the difference between the shoppers’ average lowest quoted premium and the average of the second and third lowest quoted premiums generated by InsuranceHotline.com.
