One of the problems college students face is having to get their own insurance. If you are a student and you are still protected under your parents’ health insurance but are soon going to go off to college or simply move out and become independent, then now is the time to start thinking about getting your own student health insurance. There are many different options for you when you undertake this endeavor.

The first option for student health insurance is simply to stay protected under your parents’ health insurance plan. This is a completely viable option as long as you are still attending school. In most instances, you will be able to remain under your parents’ coverage as long as you are under the age of 25. Your parents will need to check with their agent to see if this is the case with their insurance, but there are little cases when it will not be perfectly all right.

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, also known as COBRA, is another option for student health insurance. This will allow you to keep the current coverage that your parents have for you. It applies to students who are older than 25 and still enrolled in school, as well as for those who decide not to continue their educations after they turn 18. With the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act, you might be able to keep up the coverage that your parents have for you, at least temporarily.

The third option for student health insurance is to try short term coverage, especially if you will soon have a job. This works well for students who are only going to be in college for a short period of time, especially if they know they will soon have a job that will provide a suitable insurance plan. Short term student health insurance can take care of you during the time in between, and by choosing insurance with a high deductible you will not have to pay a lot of money.

The fourth and last option for student health insurance is to choose a plan which will allow you to stay covered on a permanent basis if you are not able to stay on your parents’ policy, will not be able to benefit from COBRA or short term health insurance, and either do not have a job or are not happy with the insurance policy provided by your employer. The premiums of this type of health insurance tend to be higher than you may be paying for a group health insurance policy, but you still may benefit from it more. With these policies, however, you generally do not have to get the medical testing which is required to qualify for COBRA or for students who want to remain on their parents’ policies. The premiums may be high, but you will not have to qualify medically in order to get this type of student health insurance. Once again, you can always try to keep a high deductible in order to get a premium which you can afford.