Who do you go with for insurance? We tried Anthem but they thought they'd try overcharging the quote by about $250, so so much for that. Any suggestions, warnings? Thanks!

dont get sick

don't most insurance policies cover you under your parent's plan if you're a full time student until you graduate? or does that change when you get married?

Yes it does... Yes it does...

If you're like my parents, they don't have health insurance either. So wah on that. And yes, you become legally independent when you get married, so the free coverage stops.

It is incredibly difficult for an independent college student without a job to get private health insurance, and not get reamed in the process. You'll front the entire cost.

When shopping for health insurance (or really any kind of insurance), consider what you'll actually need. The trick to shopping for cheap insurance is to get the items you'll use and not pay for coverages you don't need. Being students on campus, there are certain costs that are already taken care of. You've already paid a Student Health fee--so you may not need coverage for primary care. Also, consider the deductible and how much you'll use the insurance. If you're generally healthy, you can probably get away with a higher deductible--and save a lot of money if you never use the insurance.

You will pay a lot of money for insurance that covers everything. Decide if you need every coverage under the sun, and what you can do without.

You will pay a LOT of money up front for insurance that has a low or zero deductible. However, you could come out ahead if you're constantly in the hospital. Think it over. Work some what-if scenarios.

My choice for insurance is a "major medical" policy. Basically it's geared toward emergencies and hospital visits. When I was pricing insurance, I ran across a policy I liked that had a high deductible ($1000/family/year) and high coinsurance (20% up to $20,000). This means that if I have a major accident, I'm liable for the first $1000, and then 20% of the next $20,000 billed. Basically if I had a bad enough accident, I'd liable for $5000 maximum. That's a big chunk of change, but it would save you about $150 a month in insurance premiums. And if you keep the $5000 in savings, then when the time comes it's not a big deal.

You can get policy riders to cover individual circumstances. For instance, that policy covers 100% after the first $1000/year spent on prenatal care, delivery and well-baby checks. Something to think about.

But for the life of me I can't remember who that's through.

Another thing you may want to look into: I have my auto and renter's insurance through State Farm. I also carry a policy through them called Hospital Income. Basically, for every day you spend in inpatient care in a hospital, you get $100. Makes up for lost salary. The big deal with this is, having a third insurance line qualified me for a discount on my other policies. The hospital income policy is real cheap, about 4 or 5 dollars a month; the discount on my other lines is 5%, which worked out to about 18 dollars a month. So I got more insurance and paid less overall for it. Something to look into.

Yeah, I like the discount incentives, and I have it going through Farmer's for auto and renter's insurance. I'll have to look into it and see if they have the deal going.

Basically, Blue Cross quoted us $250 a month for both of us, but then the our first bill came and they were looking for $415. Not possible on our incomes.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll check it out.

This summer I became ineligible for coverage under my parent's insurance, and I conveniently got this thing in the mail from The Chickering Group, who appears to have some kind of deal with the University to provide healthcare. $1758 for a year of coverage. I don't know how good the coverage, but I guess I'll find out. http://www.chickering.com if you're interested.

Another thing to consider:

This is a little more passive option, granted, but it's possible. You could get one of those Chickering plans through the school. I think when I was looking at it, it actually wasn't a bad deal for 1 student plus dependent. There's 2 levels of plans, the cheaper of the two had minimal coverage with higher copays and less flexibility, but I remember the premium being about $1400/year for the two people....It's worth a look. That way at least you'll have something, though I would reckon it might be a PITA to get them to actually pay on anything.

Then, in the meanwhile, take the amount per month that you'd spend on a "good" insurance policy (or any other amount you can afford) and ferret it away into a CD or savings account. Use this opportunity to start building your emergency slush fund--it'll come in very handy later. But for it to work, you've got to stick to two rules:

1) The emergency slush fund is for emergencies.
2) Trips to Cancun are not emergencies.

Any amount is good--eventually you'll want to have 6 month's salary put away. Then you can start saving up for your down payment on your mortgage. And while you're doing all this saving around, start your IRA. Oh isn't being grown up positively wonderful???

Note: I'm not doing this--I don't even have health insurance (that's going to change very soon, as a motorcyclist I can't afford not to.) These are things you probably want to consider doing when best you're able. We're all college students, I understand. But my wife and I had a little extra stashed away, and when our car's transmission died, it's nice to be able to do what needs to be done without overextending yourself.

Edit: Ha, the Chickering gets around. Another thing--Whatever insurance you get, make sure your PCP will take it, or better yet is in network for it if you get an HMO or PPO plan. That's the thing with the Chickering--don't quote me but, somewhere, I got the idea that the only doctors around here that take them directly is Student Health. But...look into it.

There is also a free clinic in Rolla, that is open every tuesday night from i think 5:30 to 9:00 pm, over in the St. Johns clinic building over buy Panera. It is there specifically for people without health insurance, that need to see a doctor. It is first come first served, and they can only see a limited amount of people, so if you are needing a doctor, go early.