Do College Freshman Need Car Insurance? Strategies for Affordable Coverage

College is a significant milestone in many teens' lives, but it can be a costly experience. Tuition, books and room and board are all expenses that need to be considered. Is car insurance another cost parents and college students need to think about?

Depending on your teens' situation, it can be. According to the CDC, teens aged 16–19 are the highest risk group for motor vehicle accidents, causing higher premiums for young drivers. Find out if your college freshman needs car insurance and, if so, the best ways to find affordable student coverage.

There are a few factors to consider when determining if college students need to have car insurance while they’re in school:

• Are they taking a car with them to school?
• Will they be staying at home or going away to college?
• If going away, will they have access to or need to drive a vehicle when home for breaks?

Your answers to these questions will help your agent or insurance company decide if they need to be covered. Most car insurance companies have a "rate or exclude" rule. This rule means every licensed driver in the household must be either rated or excluded from your car insurance policy.

If this is a rule with your car insurance company, they will require your college student to be rated as a driver on your policy. It won’t matter if they are staying home or going away, or if they have access to a vehicle in the household.

You may not be able to exclude a college student from your policy, even if the student doesn’t drive your vehicles, unless one of two things happens: The student changes the driver’s license residence address or gets an individual car insurance policy.

If the college student must be rated, then there are ways to offset a youthful driver's higher cost on your auto insurance.

Another way to potentially save money and get affordable car insurance coverage is to get a new policy for student drivers.

The only way to know if this will save money is to get a car insurance quote for the driver and vehicle they'll use the most. If the car is titled in their name, you'll have to do this anyway.

The cost of car insurance on a separate policy may be cheaper than staying on the family policy. Due to the number of personalized factors required, quotes will vary by company. It's best to get several auto insurance quotes from different companies to compare.

Car insurance companies offer bundling discounts so consumers will keep all their insurance policies together. By combining your home, auto and other policies together, you get a discount on each policy.

If your college student requires their own policy, consider bundling it with your existing home and car insurance policies to keep the coverage affordable.

One of the best things about car insurance discounts is most of them are stackable. This means that if you qualify for several discounts, you can get most, if not all, applied together.

Bundling discounts are a great way to get affordable student auto insurance coverage. Some discounts are merit-based, which can help incentivize students to do well in their classes to save money on car insurance policies.

Some car insurance companies offer good driving programs for student drivers. They must maintain a clean driving record (no tickets or at-fault accidents) in order to remain eligible for this program.

Each company's program is different. State Farm, for example, has a course they call "Steer Clear" that high school and college-aged student drivers can complete. Once finished, they can maintain the discount while on their parent's car insurance policy until they reach 25 years old or no longer have a clean driving record.

The discount percentage and requirements vary by company, but this is a great way for a safe student driver to get more affordable car insurance coverage.

This discount is not offered by all companies but can help those with multiple student drivers in the household. Some car insurance companies cap this discount at the age of 20, but some go up to 25 years old, which is when a driver is officially considered an adult to many car insurance companies (unless they get married first).

If there are more youthful drivers than vehicles insured, one of the student drivers can be considered an occasional driver. They still have full access to drive the household vehicles, but you get the savings on your car insurance policies.

This discount is not offered in all states and isn't always offered to student drivers. By taking a defensive driving course (usually through the Department of Motor Vehicles), drivers may be eligible for additional discounts.

You'll need to check with your state and car insurance company to see if this discount is offered. Some only offer this to senior drivers over the age of 55, while others offer it to all age groups. If your college student maintains a clean driving record, they may be able to save with this discount.