High school graduation is near and your child is already thinking ahead to the fall when she will be attending college. The college experience will be exciting, but in addition to coming up with dorm decorating ideas, you both need to add the task of researching college student health insurance to your list of things to do.

If your health insurance does not cover your child while they are in college then you will need to purchase temporary medical insurance for students to insure your child is covered. Every college requires that a student have proof of having a student health insurance policy. In fact, most colleges will even offer a basic college student medical insurance plan to you for purchase. Before buying a plan from the college, read the fine print so you know what will be covered.

1. The college health insurance may limit preventative care.

2. Pre-existing conditions may be excluded from treatment on the college health insurance plan.

3. College student health insurance doctor's visits might be free, but students could be charged for lab work and prescriptions.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find out what happens to the temporary health insurance for students if your child drops out

Most people don't think about this scenario, but if your child drops out of college for any reason, will her short-term student health insurance still cover her? It very well may not and then you will need to find a new plan for medical coverage.

I recommend: The UnitedHealthcare website has a feature on it that allows you to review the school's student health insurance plan. To get a quote from a variety of providers, check out Health Insurance Sort.com.

Investigate whether the student temp health insurance will offer coverage after graduation

Once your child graduates from college, chances are she won't be eligible to be covered under your insurance policy. Choose a short-term health insurance for students that will cover your child after graduation and until she finds employment with health benefits.

I recommend: You child may have to switch to a short-term medical insurance plan that is not necessarily for college students. Look at the websites for Assurant and BuyAmericanInsurance.com for detailed information on extending temporary health insurance for students.

Determine if temporary student international insurance is required

If your child plans on studying abroad for a semester, you will need to look into an additional policy for temporary student international insurance. The regular temporary student health plans that you have purchased will not cover your child if he travels overseas.

I recommend: International Student Insurance and International Student Organization have a variety of plans for temp health insurance for students studying overseas.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  You'll notice when shopping for insurance for college, student plans will vary from state to state. Be sure to check what the policy will cover from the state in which the student will be attending school, which may be different from her home state.