What To Do About Car Insurance When Living Away From Home
Car insurance can be a considerable expense for students. You can get specialist student car insurance to help make things a little easier, but you might ultimately find that it’s more cost-effective to leave your car at home while you’re at university.
In this post we’ll discuss some practical considerations for getting adequate car insurance when you’re living away from home.
Why Is Car Insurance for Students More Expensive?
Car insurance for students tends to be more expensive for a couple of reasons. First of all, student drivers are generally younger drivers, and younger drivers tend to be involved in more accidents than older, more experienced drivers. Also, students tend to live in areas which may have a higher crime rate. Insurers charge higher insurance premiums when there’s a higher chance of theft.
Car Insurance Options for Students
There’s no question about it: If you drive a car, you need car insurance, but as students often have to pay more for their cover, you might want to consider how you can reduce this cost.
Here are some things to consider when it comes to student car insurance:
Do You Absolutely Need a Car at University?
If you don’t, you could rely on public transport to get about during term time, and students can usually get some significant discounts on buses and trains.
Meanwhile, you can drive your parents’ or someone else’s car when you’re visiting home, becoming a named driver on their policy. This can make your car insurance much cheaper. Read our blog about named driver insurance rules and implications.
What Sort of Car Do You Drive?
Some cars simply cost less to insure than others.
Choose a car from a lower insurance group and you’ll instantly make a saving on your car insurance.
Where Can You Park Your Car?
If you have your own car, taking it to university might mean you have to park it in a relatively unsafe area, which can drive up the cost of cover. But if you can park your car somewhere secure – such as on a driveway, or in a garage – then it could bring down the price of your policy.
Alternatively, if you leave your car at home, it might be easier to find somewhere safe to park it. If you only drive your car while you’re at home, you’ll drive fewer miles overall. The number of miles you drive can make a difference to the price of your cover. Generally speaking, the less you drive, the less you’ll pay.
What Address Should You Use On Your Student Car Insurance?
When your insurers ask for your address, they want to know where the car’s normally kept, as this can influence the price of your policy.
If you keep your car at university, you’ll have to use your university address when taking out car insurance. If you use your “home” address, but your insurers find out that you usually keep your car elsewhere, it could invalidate your policy. It’s always best to check with the insurer as they may need both your home address and your university address to be provided.
This is yet another reason why it might prove more cost-effective to keep your car at home during term-time. Once again, it’s important to ask yourself whether you truly need a car for university.
Get Student Car Insurance From Go Girl
At Go Girl, we specialise in helping students save money on cover. Find out more about our specialist student car insurance, and get a free online quote in minutes.
