Do You Leave Town for College?

If you attend school in another city or state, these factors can affect your auto insurance policy.

Posted Jan. 7, 2008, at 7 a.m.

Many students choose to leave town or even cross state lines to attend college. If you're one of them, or if you have a child who's an out-of-town or out-of-state student, there are a few steps you should take to update your auto insurance policy.

Consider the following factors and see what you should do with your insurance policy — whether you're still on your parents' policy or if you have your own. Remember that not every insurance company does things the same way, so be sure to check with your company for the specific actions to take.

Distance From Home

How far away is your college? Is it 20 miles away but in a different state? Is it 200 miles away but in the same state?

Regardless of distance, you should notify your insurance company if you live away from home and keep a car with you. If your school is in a different state — even if it's just a few miles away — you still want to ensure you're in compliance with the minimum insurance requirements of both your home state and your college state, so providing up-to-date information to your insurance company can help you determine the proper limits to have on your policy.

For instance, if you live in Pennsylvania, where state minimum BI/PD liability limits are 15/30/5, and you go to school in New York, where state minimum BI/PD limits are 25/50/10, Pennsylvania limits would legally be insufficient to cover you in case of an accident while you're at school in New York.

If you have a Progressive policy, we can verify your policy limits are sufficient for both states when you notify us of your school address. If they need to be adjusted, we can help you choose the proper limits for your situation.

If your school is in the same state as your permanent residence but it's 100 miles or more from your home, you could be eligible for a distant student discount if you meet specific criteria, such as not having access to a covered vehicle while you're at school.

So, whether you attend an in-state or an out-of-state school, it's important to notify your insurance company if you live away from home.

Student Discounts

Some companies offer a discount simply for being a student while others offer discounts for students with good grades and/or driving records. Each discount has specific criteria, so consider what you're eligible for and make sure you provide your current student status and information to your company to ensure the proper discounts are applied to your insurance policy.

If you're on a parent's Progressive policy, you can qualify for a Distant Student discount if you meet all of the following characteristics:

• Attend school more than 100 miles from home, even if it's in the same state
• Do not have access to a vehicle
• Are a licensed driver under age 23
• Are a student at an educational institution
• Live away from home

If you meet each of the identified characteristics, make sure you contact us to receive the Distant Student discount. If you don't have a Progressive policy, see what student discounts your company offers.

Living Situation

If you don't live at your parents' house while you're in college, it's important to contact your insurance company to provide your temporary address. In fact, your policy may require you to notify your insurance company if you keep your vehicle at a different address than the one on your policy.

Contacting your insurance company about an address change, also called a garaging change, could mean a change in what you pay for insurance. Current addresses help your company accurately determine your premiums, which could decrease or increase depending on where you live for school. Or, the price could stay the same.

With a Progressive policy, we can let you know if the price changes and when it'll change when you update your address. Also, you only need to notify us if you move to a new location, but you don't need to notify us when you return home for school breaks or between semesters.

Vehicle Access

Do you drive a vehicle while you're at school, or do you use other forms of transportation? We've already mentioned that you could qualify for a distant student discount if you don't have access to a vehicle on your policy while you're at school.

But what if you drive a vehicle occasionally, such as one of your parent's cars a few weekends out of the year? If the vehicle is listed on your parents' policy, you should still be considered a relative, which means you'd have insurance coverage for these infrequent uses. However, check your policy to make sure you fit the definition of a relative, as some policies specify a cutoff age for student relatives.

If you attend school and live away from home, it's a good idea to notify your insurance company of this to ensure you're properly covered by your policy in all situations. Even if you don't drive a car while at school, you still can qualify for student discounts, so make sure you mention your student status when you update your policy.

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