One of the first things on the mind of any student is the subject of owning a car. In most cases the make and color of the car is not important, as long as it has wheels and an engine and will get from A to B. After the matter of the auto come the other important items that fill a student’s mind – a boy or girl friend, the party scene, the upcoming sporting events and finally studies. Auto insurance hardly features in the list of priorities. Of course many young students are still covered on their parents’ policies, and they can remain with this cover for as long as the parents agree.

Students who decide to get their own insurance, here are some pointers for you:

Work with an Agent:
The first piece of advice to a student is to work with an agent. Ask your agent for advice on different levels of insurance and generally to advise you as to what you should do. Agents are knowledgeable on insurance matters, so they will help you to make good decisions. After you graduate and you upgrade your car, think about a different level of deductible. If you have an older car perhaps carry ‘liability only’ insurance for it. There are many possibilities.

Minimum Coverage:
Minimum cover is usually expressed as a formula which includes the following 3 factors: x thousands of dollars per person/ x thousands of dollars per accident/ and x thousands of dollars for property damage to others.

The minimum required bodily injury coverage varies from one State to another, anywhere from 50/100/25 to 10/20/20. States have mandated minimums. This is not usually enough coverage to ensure that all parties will be taken care of in the event of an accident.

Collision and Comprehensive Coverage:
If you have a new or late model car, you should have full-coverage insurance. This means that you have collision and comprehensive insurance. Collision deductibles are what you pay to the insurance company to fix your car in the event of an accident where you are at fault. These claims affect your future rates on insurance substantially.

The comprehensive deductible is the amount of money you pay in the event that your vehicle was vandalized, involved in a hit and run, damaged in a hail storm, or even if you hit an animal in the road. These claims do not affect your future insurance rates as they are not the fault of the driver.