Car Insurance for Graduate Students

Graduate school isn’t cheap. In fact, tuition fees for a two-year master’s degree program range from as low as $30,000 to as high as $102,355.

Since the average person seeking an advanced degree doesn’t have this type of money to spend, the average graduate degree holder is left paying off student loans for decades after they graduate school.

Student debt isn’t ideal but holding a graduate degree makes a difference.

When you’re studying for your master’s degree, it can affect your earnings. You’ll be dedicating more of your time to school and less of your time in the office.

Since you’ll be living off of a smaller income temporarily, it’s nice to know that you could qualify for auto insurance discounts for being a college student. Here’s what you need to know.

If you are a graduate student in need of better auto insurance, start comparison shopping today by entering your ZIP code above!

How does education affect your car insurance rates?

Most car insurance companies give auto insurance discounts based on your level of education. Whether or not a discount is available depends entirely on the state and the carrier that you’re doing business with.

One of the key reasons why current college students should shop around for car insurance is to find the best education discounts.

You may not see the correlation between educational attainment and your driving behaviors, but actuaries who set auto insurance rates do.

In fact, in most states insurers are allowed to offer special rates for certain education levels because it’s been determined that educational attainment is an effective way to predict auto insurance losses.

The higher the degree the driver holds, the less they will pay.

Graduate Students Qualify for A Favorable Education Rating

As you know, you can’t be a graduate student without first completing a four-year degree program.

Only after you completed your prerequisites and your bachelor’s degree curriculum, will you be eligible to enroll in a business degree or master’s degree program. You already have a leg-up on the competition because you’re a degree holder.

If you already possess your bachelor’s degree, you need to find a carrier that will give you a favorable education rating. Be sure to update your insurance as soon as you graduate.

Holding a Bachelor’s degree will save you an average of 19 percent.

Drivers who hold their four-year degree have a loss ratio .901, which is lower than the loss ratio of 1.131 reported for drivers with only a high school diploma.

What is a good student discount?

If you were licensed while you were still studying for your high school diploma, you know that you can save a huge chunk of money off of your insurance by getting good grades.

The Good Student Discount can save you 15 percent to 25 percent off of your insurance rates depending on the company.

What are eligibility requirements for the good student discount?

All carriers have eligibility requirements for discounts. It’s no different when it comes to Good Student savings. Most carriers require you to be a full-time student before you’re eligible.

Not only do you have to attend school full-time, you also have to be 25 or younger.

Once you reach 25, you’re considered an experienced driver so you might not save anything for getting good grades in grad school.

Specialty Carriers Offer Affinity Discounts

You might not be eligible for discounts for maintaining your good grades, but you can still find savings for being a graduate student. Many companies offer drivers in certain risk groups special affinity discounts.

A special affinity discount is like receiving a group rate on auto insurance just for being affiliated with a group.

If you’re enrolled as a student in a business school, you should speak with the student affairs department to see if the school is affiliated with any auto insurance carriers.

If they are, all you have to do is tell the company that you’re a current student through the school and you’ll get the special rate.

Update Your Policy When You’re Accepted to Graduate School

If you’re accepted to grad school, you have to update your auto insurance to ensure that you don’t have gaps in coverage.

In rural areas, you could be forced to commute 50 miles or more to go to school. A longer commute to school could have a dramatic impact on your rates once you update your rating information.

If you’re going to study in a traditional classroom setting, you have to be sure your insurer knows that you’re commuting to and from class. Your agent will ask you how long your commute is and how many days per week you go to class.

Your commute and class schedule could raise your rates if you’re currently receiving a pleasure rate. Your rates could also rise if your average mileage goes up.

What occupation are you pursuing?

Your intentions of earning your graduate degree is another factor that can truly impact your insurance rate. If you’re already working in the occupation, you could be receiving a favorable occupation rating already.

Your occupation could be a fair predictor that is used to determine how safe of a driver you are.

There are different occupation classes used by actuaries in auto insurance pricing.

Some drivers, like educators and nurses, are classified as safer drivers than others. If you go from being in a risky occupation class to being in a safer one after you’ve earned your master’s, it could benefit you.

Make sure you’re updating your occupation and education level as soon as you make changes.

The Internet has changed the way that post-secondary students earn their degrees. If you’re ready to take the next step in your student career, studying for your graduate degree can affect all aspects of your life.

It’s best to shop around and look for low-cost auto insurance premiums while you are in school. If you’re ready to price shop the market, use an online auto quote tool and get instant rate quotes in a matter of minutes.

Try our FREE online quote tool and compare at least three to four policies to get the best auto insurance rates for you! Enter your ZIP code below to begin!