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Is your kid college-bound? It could save you a fortune on car insurance

Sending a child away to college is ridiculously expensive. Tuition, room and board, textbooks and other expenses can quickly bleed your bank account dry. But when a child leaves for college, parents can save hundreds of dollars by doing one simple thing: updating their car insurance.

As most parents already know, the cost to insure a teen driver is through the roof -- and that's putting it mildly. Their youth and inexperience make them the most dangerous -- and therefore riskiest -- drivers on the road. In fact, adding a teen to a car insurance policy will likely tack on thousands of dollars per year to your premium.

Fortunately, there are several ways a college-bound child can work wonders for your car insurance rate:

• If your child won't be driving, you could save a fortune by excluding them from coverage while they're away. Students who live and work on-campus probably won't need a vehicle, and in a number of major metropolitan areas public transportation is the best (and cheapest) way to get around. If your insurer doesn't allow exclusions for students, search for a company that does with free car insurance quotes from InsWeb.com.
  
  
• Many college-bound students still need to drive -- just not as often. For these students, pay-as-you-go car insurance is ideal. It tracks a driver's usage and adjusts premiums accordingly, rewarding low-mileage drivers with rock-bottom rates. Progressive and GMAC offer pay-as-you-go car insurance in more than a dozen states.
  
  
• By requesting a distant student discount from your insurer, your premium will drop dramatically and your child will be covered while home during holidays. Also, if your child qualifies for a good student discount -- usually a ‘B' average or better -- you could save up to 10%.
  
  
• Sending your child away to college provides a golden opportunity to shop around for car insurance quotes and save money. With an inexperienced driver out of your household, many car insurance companies could be willing to offer you a much lower rate than you pay currently. Shop around and see how much you could save.

This article is provided by InsWeb Corp. Visit InsWeb.com today to compare multiple auto insurance quotes from the nation's top carriers and local agents.