If you’re a college student, you’re probably discovering a lot of freedom – and a lot of responsibilities. Along with being able to eat pizza at 3 a.m., you have to take care of grown-up things – one of which is car insurance. Sure, being in college and being independent is great and all, but maybe you wish you weren’t quite so independent when it comes to getting your auto insurance. Where do you even start? It might seem overwhelming, but here are a few tips for getting Atlanta college student car insurance.
6 tips for Atlanta college student car insurance.
1. Drive safe.
We know, we know – you’ve heard it a million times. Don’t speed, don’t text and drive, try not to hit things, and all that good stuff. But these things have consequences that go beyond just getting a ticket and/or having to pay a hefty fine. You may end up paying quite a bit more for your car insurance. If you drive safe and keep a clean driving record, it can put you in a better insurance situation. That’s how being a safe driver can pay off – you can get lower insurance premiums.
2. Ask about college student car insurance discounts.
Okay, if you’re a student, funds might be a little tight. School is expensive, room and board is expensive, food is expensive. And insurance for young drivers is typically pretty expensive. However, you may be eligible for college student car insurance discounts. Here are a few discounts you may want to look into.
Good Student: A student who makes good grades may qualify for a Good Student Discount. You’ll probably have to provide some proof of said good grades – i.e. a transcript.
Away at School: If you’re attending school a certain distance away from home – for example, 100 miles – and you don’t bring a car, you might get an away-at-school discount. That could come in handy, so check with your parents if you’re still on their policy and see if that’s something that could help you out.
Bundling: If you have a car and an apartment, you may want to think about bundling your car insurance and your renters insurance. (All this means is you’re getting both coverages from the same insurance company.)
Pay-in-full: In the long run, you may be able to save money by paying for your policy upfront. Yes, it’s a big payment, but it could be less expensive than paying in installments if you get a pay-in-full discount. Just something to consider – of course, you have to do what’s best for your budget.
These are just a few car insurance discounts you can qualify for as a college student. Don’t forget to ask about your discounts and what savings you could be eligible for.
3. Understand what coverages you need.
First thing to know about car insurance – there are a lot of different coverages out there and they all do different things. Of course, they all protect you, just in different ways. It can help to have a working knowledge of these coverages so you’re prepared when you get the car insurance you need. Here are the basic coverages you should know about.
Bodily injury liability – It’s really important to have bodily injury liability coverage because it can cover the other driver’s medical expenses and lost wages if they’re injured in an accident in which you’re at fault.
Property damage – Can cover repairs to the other driver’s car (or other property you happen to damage) if you’re at fault in an accident.
Collision coverage – Can cover repairs to your car if you are in an accident or you hit something, like a fence.
Comprehensive coverage – Can cover repairs to your car if it’s damaged by something other than an accident, like fire, falling objects, animal strike, and vandalism. (It can also cover theft.)
Rental reimbursement – Can help cover the cost of renting a car if your car is in the shop due to an accident.
Medical payments – Can help cover your medical bills and those of your passengers if you’re injured in an accident.
These are some of the coverages you can consider as part of your car insurance plan. Well, to be honest, you’re required to have some of them. The State of Georgia requires you to have $25,000 of bodily injury liability per person, $50,000 of bodily injury liability per occurrence, and $25,000 of property damage liability. And if you have a car payment, your lender may require you to carry collision and comprehensive coverage. Anyways, make sure that you have the coverage you need and that you have high enough coverage limits to truly protect you.
4. Think about bundling your car insurance and renters insurance.
Something you might want to think about is bundling your renters insurance and your car insurance, which we mentioned earlier. Yes, this could indeed help you save money, but it also gives you the convenience of being able to deal with only one insurance carrier. Look into bundling and see if this seems like a good strategy for your situation. That way you could set yourself up to save money and un-complicate your insurance.
5. Resist the impulse to procrastinate.
True, insurance isn’t something that most people enjoy having to deal with. And that means that you might have the urge to procrastinate when it comes to getting your car insurance taken care of. But – not to nag or anything – you might want to be proactive and not wait until the last minute to get college student car insurance. If you give yourself time, you spare yourself a headache, for starters. But you also give yourself more time to look into various insurance options so you can choose the one that suits your needs and situation (and perhaps budget).
6. Get multiple quotes for Atlanta college student car insurance.
Getting multiple quotes for your college student car insurance might seem like a lot of work, but it can pay off to keep your options open and compare different quotes. You don’t have to do that all on your own, though – our team can help you with that. We can help you get multiple quotes. In fact, our team of agents are pretty good at that, if we say so ourselves.
Here’s how it works.
1. You reach out to us over the phone, with our online form, or through LiveChat. If you need to email or text, we can do that, too.
2. We have a quick talk about your insurance situation.
3. We’ll get you some car insurance quotes.
4. We go over your quotes with you.
5. We’ll be here to handle any issues or questions that come up.
So, that’s what you need to know about college student car insurance! Insurance might seem intimidating and scary, but we like to make insurance as easy as possible. Our team can help you through the process of getting car insurance – get started with your quotes by filling out our online form, giving us a call, or messaging us on LiveChat.