GradGuard Blog

The NAFSA Annual Conference is quickly approaching! There’s just over a month to go until it’s start on May 27th. We will be attending and you can come find us […]

Student loans have begun garnering attention in the media lately, as time ticks ever closer to July 1st. They’ve become a hot ticket on the campaign trail, even making their […]

Going to college is a fun, exciting time for both students and parents. But when it comes to education, things can get a little pricey. Private and public universities are […]

With Spring Break just around the corner, you might be planning a trip to a fabulous, exotic location–maybe someplace you’ve never been before. Maybe you have friends who are currently […]

Thanks to TheDartmouth – the college newspaper of Dartmouth College. The student journalist who wrote the article below illustrates the need for and value of renters insurance for college students.

The September 26th edition of the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “How College Health Plans Are Failing Students”. The article fails to address just how few affordable choices students have if the school plan does not meet their needs. GradGuard shares the goal of colleges that seek to mitigate the risks that could interfere with a students goal of completing an education. Health coverage is fundamental to this goal and is addressed through GradGuard’s Student Health Plan. In addition to GradGuard’s Student Health Plan, GradGuard also offers tuition insurance, college renters insurance and the Student Protection Plan.

If you have recently sent a son or daughter off to college, it is critically important that you have a signed Health Care Power of Attorney (HCPOA) in place. This document is important because once your child turns 18, they are legally recognized as an adult and the colleges they are attending generally cannot share medical information with you.In the case where you may need the HCPOA, you may also find yourself needing emergency medical evacuation insurance or be in at risk for losing the investment in that semesters education expenses. GradGuard offers an affordable solution thru its Student Protection Plan, which includes not only tuition insurance but also emergency medical evacuation insurance.

Paul Sullivan of The New York Times describes some of the vital risks that college families should consider in his September 17th article. Please read the entire article here or see a summary of the highlights below. Sullivan commentary is mostly aimed for wealthy parents, but much of the advice he highlights applies to all 19.7 million college students and their families.

The article does a great job of identifying the traditional risks such as the need for renters insurance, ID theft insurance and other more specific insurance programs that can help college families, but it falls short in several important ways. Next Generation Insurance Group’s GradGuard sees risks facing students in many other ways including the need for tuition insurance and the need for emergency medical evacuation insurance. An important footnote, ID theft & resolution services, tuition insurance and emergency medical evacuation insurance are included with GradGuard’s Student Protection Plan. GradGuard’s Student Protection Plan is an insurance and benefits bundle that provides real peace of mind to college students and their families.

National Public Radio created a fantastic summary of the Big 5 Issues facing students on campus. GradGuard recognizes that these health issues are also real potential risks that may interrupt an academic semester and also lead to a medical withdrawal. These “Big 5” reminders by NPR are another independent source recognizing the risks to the investment college students and their families make to support them. Thanks to NPR for providing another argument for students to also consider purchasing tuition insurance.

There is a great deal of discussion regarding the involvement of parents in college students lives these days. Most of the attribution as to why is that it is a habit of over-involved parents that is advanced by the availability of technology to “over parent”. Yet this is among the LA Times story by Larry Gordon – also identifies the risk facing parents and the investment they are making as part of the reason for their involvement.