Don't let your car insurance provider in on the secret that you're keeping your car in a crowded parking lot away from home.
I did, and they are making me pay.
I heard stories of students having to pay more for their car insurance while staying on campus. I couldn't seem to find any verifiable facts of this anywhere, so I did the only practical thing. I called my insurance company, Geico, and asked if there was any difference.
I meant to do this anonymously, but things got tangled up quickly. The customer service man asked me my name, and upon typing it into his machine, he quickly found I that I have an existing policy with them. He then transfered me to a customer service woman named Andrea, who coerced me into admitting that, yes, I was the college student I was speaking of and that I had my car on campus.
In return for my honesty, she upped my policy by $25 every six months.
She said that this was because the rates that applied were different for every area.
"The area could have higher animal population, higher theft rates, more crashes, worse intersections, or a number of other things to make the rate higher," Andrea said.
I was curious so I got a quote from Geico online using my home address and another one using the school address. I got the same exact premium for both.
The real reason, which Andrea briefly explained to me, is because I'm on my parent's insurance and I'm away from home.
"It's because now you're the one keeping the vehicle," she told me "and because you're under 25."
They had never before asked me or my parents where my vehicle was being kept. If I would have just kept quiet, they would've never known.
I did, and they are making me pay.
I heard stories of students having to pay more for their car insurance while staying on campus. I couldn't seem to find any verifiable facts of this anywhere, so I did the only practical thing. I called my insurance company, Geico, and asked if there was any difference.
I meant to do this anonymously, but things got tangled up quickly. The customer service man asked me my name, and upon typing it into his machine, he quickly found I that I have an existing policy with them. He then transfered me to a customer service woman named Andrea, who coerced me into admitting that, yes, I was the college student I was speaking of and that I had my car on campus.
In return for my honesty, she upped my policy by $25 every six months.
She said that this was because the rates that applied were different for every area.
"The area could have higher animal population, higher theft rates, more crashes, worse intersections, or a number of other things to make the rate higher," Andrea said.
I was curious so I got a quote from Geico online using my home address and another one using the school address. I got the same exact premium for both.
The real reason, which Andrea briefly explained to me, is because I'm on my parent's insurance and I'm away from home.
"It's because now you're the one keeping the vehicle," she told me "and because you're under 25."
They had never before asked me or my parents where my vehicle was being kept. If I would have just kept quiet, they would've never known.
