Learn How to Protect Your Child’s College Fund

This post is sponsored by Allianz Global Assistance (AGA Service Company), but the opinions are mine.

Learn How to Protect Your Child’s College Fund

A few weeks ago social media was buzzing with photos of everyone’s children on the first day of school.  From parents sending their child to their first day of kindergarten to high school seniors heading into their last year, photos taken by proud parents were everywhere. Among those photos were also pictures and stories about families sending their child off to college. Photos of teary eyed parents who scrimped and saved to send their child to college and pictures of the students who worked every summer to save for college were everywhere.

Sending a child off to college is not only an emotional time for parent and student alike, it can also be a strain on the wallet and savings. The annual cost of college tuition fees, room and board for a public, four-year institution is nearly $19,000. (Forbes)  Face it, college is an investment.  It is an investment of time and effort but also a big monetary investment.  We all want our children to have the best in life, so it is an investment we are happy to make.

Just like our home and other important investments we make in daily life, we want to protect that investment; but what happens when unforeseen circumstances happen and a student must leave college?  Depending on when this happens, you may get only a portion of your tuition payment and associated fees returned. In a blink of an eye you can lose some of that hard earned college fund that everyone scrimped and saved to accumulate.  Now there is a way to protect your child’s college fund in the same way you protect your home, with Allianz Tuition Insurance.

Tuition insurance provides families with investment protection for non-refundable tuition payments, fees, and room and board costs. The insurance must be purchased prior to the first day of the term and reimburses students or parents for these payments if the student has to withdraw from a college or university for a reason covered by their policy, such as serious illness or injury, struggles with a psychological condition or other unforeseen circumstances. The coverage is available in all 50 states.

Allianz Tuition Insurance has 3 plans to choose from: the Essential Plan, the Preferred Plan, and the Advantage Plan. Prices start at $29.95 per term and allow for full or partial reimbursement of total tuition costs.  The plans must be renewed every semester giving you the flexibility to only pay for the terms your child attends at college.  All tuition plans include Allianz Global Assistance’s proprietary Student Life Assistance, a 24/7 service that assists families in the event of an emergency.

Here are some important facts to consider as you send your child off to college:

• 82% of parents are planning to pay $10,000 or more per year on tuition.**
• 84% of respondents think the cost of post-secondary tuition is too high.**
• 82% of parents said that the cost of post-secondary education is significant for them and their family. **
• 81% of parents were not aware that tuition insurance exists. **
• 90% of respondents did not know where to purchase tuition insurance.**
• 81% of respondents believed tuition insurance was important, given the current climate of rapidly rising tuition. **

According to a recent survey of financial advisors commission by Allianz and conducted by an independent firm, the majority of financial advisors would recommend college tuition insurance. In addition:

• Close to nine in ten (87 percent) of financial advisors say the leading cause of investment anxiety is college savings.
• Nearly eight in ten (78 percent) say they would recommend tuition insurance for students taking out loans;
• More than seven in ten (72 percent) say they would recommend tuition insurance for first-year college students.

Protecting our investments is always a good idea.  Why should the investment in our child’s education be any different? Each term thousands of students withdraw from college.  Don’t let your hard earned money, the money you saved to help your child’s future go to waste.  Protect those funds with a tuition insurance plan through Allianz.

**Survey conducted by QuestionPro and commissioned by Allianz Global Assistance.

 

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