Insurance and Your College Kids

Out in front of our Oxford, OH insurance office, it is a busy place. Today 16,000+ Miami University students return to begin a new school year. This annual pilgrimage brings up potential insurance issues pertaining to what parent's personal insurance policies cover or don't cover. Three areas that parents should be aware of:

(1) If your son or daughter is going away to school over 100 miles from home without a car, most companies will rate your Personal Auto Policy for them being married which is a nice discount. Let us know if this discount might apply to your family and your Personal Auto Policy.
(2) Most insurance companies will extend personal property (contents) coverage and personal liability for your son or daughter while they are in college and living in a dormitory. Some, but not all, will also extend coverage if they are living in off campus facilities such as an apartment or other student housing. Please check with us to see if your insurance company provides this extended protection. If not, we should be able to write a Tenant/Homeowner for your student to cover both their personal property and personal liability while they are an undergraduate. If they are in graduate school, they should definitely have their own Tenant/Homeowner Policy.
(3) If you or your children are using a rental truck to take their things back to college, U-Haul, Penske, Hertz and other will offer you coverage on the vehicle (collision damage waiver) and extended liability. While these may be covered by your Personal Auto Policy, not all companies extend the protection, so check with us before renting the vehicle. Whether or not they are covered will depend on the length and Gross Vehicle Weight of the vehicle and several other factors. We may be suggesting you buy the extra protection from the rental company before your trip.

Child Booster Seats

The institute for Highway Safety has provided a method to take much of the guesswork out of selecting the proper booster seat for your child. Seat belts are designed with adults in mind- so a child booster seat is an absolute necessity, and extra care needs to be taken when securing young children.

Children usually resist wearing a seatbelt because it is uncomfortable. Boosters elevate children so that the safety belts installed in the vehicles by manufacturers will fit the child better. The booster seat allows the lap belt to fit properly over the child’s thighs and not their abdomen. The shoulder belt should fit across the middle of the child’s shoulder. Not only will the belt be more comfortable, it will provide maximum protection in a crash.

The institute’s researchers used a specially designed test dummy configured as a 6 year old child. The researchers determined the effectiveness of how a 3-point lap and shoulder belt fit the dummy under a range of configurations representing many different automobile models. Based on a range of scores, a booster seat rating was assigned to each seat.

Kidproof

The temptations and dangers to today’s children are unfortunately ever growing. The news will attest to this with stories of abductions, kidnapping, facebook driven depressions, internet bullying, etc. It is important that kids and parents today be proactive against such dangers. Being in the business of risk management we are always looking for ways to mitigate and avoid risk. One way to do this when it comes to kid’s safety is through courses put on by Kidproof. Kidproof is an organization that puts on safety courses for children. The courses are geared toward kids ages 5 to mid teens.

Some examples of their courses are:

Cybersafe which teaches kids how to safely use the internet. They teach them how to see warning signs and unsafe situations online.

Another course is all about avoiding being bullied or how to deal appropriately with a bully. The course is called Bully Proofing.

Their most popular class is the Babysitter Training course. This course helps kids develop the skills needed to take care of other children.

Knowledge and education are always a good defense against certain dangers. Kidproof’s classes are a great way for parents to help make children aware and educated on today’s dangers. Visit www.kidproofsaftey.com today.

Kidproof is always looking to expand to help get the word out to parents in different communities in North America. If anyone wishes to start their own Kidproof franchise then contact Darian Richardson of RMC Franchise. Visit his website at www.rmcfranchiseconnect.com.