Small percentage of students find need for tuition insurance

Less than 1 percent of students who buy tuition insurance at USC actually find need for the security, according to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal.

About 10,000 students, or about one-third of the USC student body, decide to buy insurance for their tuition at the beginning of the year, according to the article. The USC insurance provides a refund of tuition and fees to students who must withdraw from classes because of illness or injury.

At USC, it costs $123 to insure tuition that costs about $40,000 a year for 16 units of class. The university contracts A.W.G. Dewar, Inc. to handle the insurance. Among those who buy insurance at USC, a very small percentage actually find need for the coverage.

The reasons that students can file a claim for a refund aren’t that broad, however, according to Dewar. Students cannot claim tuition refund for simply skipping class, leaving because of drug use or self-inflicted injury, or unhospitalized mental illness.

Students usually opt for tuition insurance when registering for classes, but have until the end of the third week of class to buy the insurance at the beginning of every semester, according to the USC Office of Academic Records and Registrar.