For the majority of college students the last thing they think about is health insurance as is shown in some recently released statistics that show that about one out of three college students have no form of health insurance coverage. Attending college is an expensive undertaking and merely finding the money you have to have and sorting out your college loans is difficult enough, but you must also think about including suitable affordable medical insurance alongside everything else which you will need to have.

Naturally you should start by looking at your parents’ health insurance plan if this applies because it is possible that it will include cover for you while you are at college. However, you do need to read the plan details very carefully as some plans will provide cover for while you are enrolled in college and others will not. Two things that you need to look for especially are conditions concerning age and location.

A lot of health plans will provide cover for children up to the age of 18 or 21 as long as you are at home and some plans will extend this age limit providing you are in full-time education. However, many plans are limited to cover within a specific geographic area and so, although you may meet the age requirements of the plan, you may find that you will not be covered when you are away from home.

Should you parent’s plan will not provide you with the cover you want then you will have to arrange your own student health insurance and will need to look for suitable providers. Luckily, this is not too difficult and there are numerous insurance companies which provide plans specifically designed for university students. So, where should you begin looking?

Initially you should look at your own university as colleges will generally make arrangements for their students to get cover at a discounted rate. This does not automatically mean that this is the best plan for your own circumstances and you will need to study the details to see it meets your needs. Nonetheless your own college is an excellent place to start your search and will normally offer you the best deal. Another thing to consider when looking at your own university is exactly what medical facilities are provided on campus. The majority of the larger universities will have excellent medical facilities which are staffed day and night, while a lot of the smaller universities have much more limited facilities.

Apart from the college itself you can look to the insurance companies and a number of publicly funded organizations for cover. As well, do not overlook the fact that there are a number of different forms of plan that are aimed at different student groups. Short-term health insurance cover for example might suit a lot of graduate students and can often be extended following graduation to cover you until you secure employment and become covered by an employer’s plan. In addition, there are supplemental plans that will cover you for such things as pre-existing medical conditions that are usually excluded from standard student cover.

Today health insurance is a complex area and you will need to shop around to find a student health insurance plan which both meets your requirements and also fits your pocketbook. This is nonetheless one thing that you should certainly not forget about because attending college is an expensive enough undertaking in the first place and you do not want to risk your future or your money simply because you are unable to cover the cost of injury or illness.