Accident Insurance

Student Accident And Sickness Insurance: Why It's So Vital

College is often a time of major change and transitions. Students are moving away from home for the first time, they are making new friends and are more responsible than ever for the academic and life choices they make. While parents often strive to prepare their children for things like dorm life and responsible drinking, they often forget the importance of student accident and sickness insurance.

This is particularly important if the student will not be listed as a dependent on their parents' taxes; often this is the line that insurance companies use to determine whether they will still cover children under the parents' policy. However, it is also important to realize that many student accident and sickness insurance plans are only secondary insurance plans. They will take over and assist with covering costs that the primary plan does not cover, but will not itself act as a primary insurance plan.

Student accident and sickness insurance comes in many shapes and sizes, and is often offered directly through the school the student is attending. Some student accident and sickness insurance plans require that the student first go to the school's health and wellness center before seeing a physician in a clinic or hospital setting, unless there is an emergency and/or the health and wellness center is not staffed or open at the time of the illness. Frequently the student will be asked to fill out accident insurance forms each school year in order to renew their policy, and they are only covered while they are active students. Sometimes coverage will extend several months past graduation, in order to help the student transition to their own accident and sickness insurance policy.

Student accident and sickness insurance can be particularly important for students who are considering travel abroad. Whether planning a trip to somewhere exotic and potentially dangerous like South Africa or a more placid experience in Western Europe, any time a student is out of the country they have a higher likelihood of experiencing an accident or sudden illness. Having student accident and sickness insurance can help protect the student in such circumstances, as well as help ease the minds of his or her parents.

One of the other major benefits to enrolling in student accident and sickness insurance is the extremely affordable rates that schools are able to offer. Particularly when the primary insurance is "disaster only," with high deductibles and few covered costs, having an affordable secondary insurance can save what is almost sure to be a tightly stretched budget.