Students' car insurance premiums vary by a massive £650 per year depending on where they go to university, according to MoneySuperMarket.
For example, the cost of insuring a car at Glasgow University was £1,368.28 on average, compared to £801.36 at Bangor University.
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With most student accommodation located in busy town centres, it's likely freshers in particular will see their premiums rise when they leave their family homes.
However, MoneySuperMarket warns all students to avoid the temptation of ‘fronting' on their parent's motor insurance to save money by putting their parent down as the main driver. This is illegal and will be is classified as fraud by insurers.
Kevin Pratt, insurance expert at MoneySuperMarket, said: "If living away from home, university students should update their car insurance policy accordingly and weigh up whether any increased cost is something they can afford to pay at a time when they face huge expense. However, those moving from a ‘higher risk' urban postcode to a rural campus might benefit from cheaper car insurance.
"It's important the details held by your insurer are accurate as any discrepancies could invalidate your policy."
Students also need to think about contents insurance before the start of the new term, as student houses with their ready supply of gadgets are always targets for thieves.
However, while standalone student contents insurance policies are available, it is often cheaper for parents to add on their student children's possessions to their own home insurance, which will cover them away from the family home.
Pratt added: "Insurance is probably the last thing students preparing to go to university are thinking about, but they shouldn't presume their contents will be covered by the landlord of their rented accommodation, or their parents' home insurance. Some insurers will add students to their parents' contents policy, however, this doesn't happen automatically and cover might be restricted, although it can be good value. In some cases the cost of individual cover might work out cheaper for students so it's worth researching both options."
For a complete guide to essential student finances, see our guide here.
Does exactly what it says on the tin: covers the contents of your home for theft and damage and also may insure certain possessions (jewellery, cycles) outside of the home. Things to watch for include the excess and also the maximum payout on individual items. Another grey area is kitchen fittings, as some contents policies say these are not contents but part of the fabric of the property and covered by buildings insurance and some buildings policies don’t cover them because they regard them as contents.
