General Insurance Information

What is Insurance?

Insurance is a contractual agreement. You pay an amount of money in return for a promise from an insurance company to pay you for a loss you sustain. The policy is the contract and defines the coverage; its language will detail the conditions and circumstances under which the policyholder will be financially compensated.

Why do I need it?

Your resources may be insufficient to meet your needs if you suffer an accidental loss. Insurance can help to keep you financially stable by protecting your assets or income. There are three basic types of loss and different types of insurance to protect against these losses.

  1. You could be injured or sick and need medical care, including hospitalization.
  2. Your property or personal possessions could be lost through fire, water damage, or some other accident.
  3. You could accidentally hurt someone physically or damage their property and be financially responsible or legally liable for the costs of the injuries or their property loss.

What kind of insurance do I need?

HEALTH INSURANCE

The Affordable Care Act requires that all individuals be covered by health insurance. Many students are insured by their parents’ employee health benefits, which can provide coverage until you are 26 years of age or able to purchase your own coverage through an employer. Other students purchase the coverage available at University Health Plans, Inc regardless of coverage by their parents’ plans to ensure that providers in the area of the College’s campus are available to them if needed. The detailed information regarding this coverage and how to satisfy the College’s requirements for coverage can be found under the “Insurance” section at https://healthcenter.lafayette.edu/health-forms/. While the personal health insurance policies of intercollegiate student-athletes provide the primary coverage for athletic injuries, a secondary accident policy is provided by the College at no charge to the student-athlete. For a more detailed explanation of the process for filing student-athlete injury claims, please review https://www.goleopards.com/news/2018/1/10/insurance.aspx

PROPERTY INSURANCE

The College assumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to any student’s personal property while located in College-owned premises. Students should verify that coverage is provided under their family’s homeowners policy. If this policy does not provide coverage, students should visit https://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/ or contact an insurance agent.

LIABILITY INSURANCE

While not required, the College recommends that students verify that their family’s liability insurance extends coverage for the student’s actions both on and off campus. The College does provide liability coverage of $1,000,000 per occurrence for participants in recognized and registered intramural sports and clubs (both sports and other) excluding fraternal organizations.  Fraternal organizations recognized by the College are provided liability insurance coverage by their chapters. Note that high-risk activities and illegal activities are excluded from coverage.