Expert: Thom Brooks - 8/30/2008

Question
My son is covered under his Mother's insurance. He is going to college to play football and get an education. He needs to be fulltime to be covered under his Mother's insurance. The coach wants him to gray shirt and get a print out of his fulltime status, show the ins. comp. and then cut a class to become parttime.(not a fulltime student= not covered, he is not going to do this)What do most kids do about insurance coverage?

Answer
John, hello!

One of you need to read the insurance policy and then talk to the Home Office to verify how many hours they would consider his to be full time vs. part time.  The normal maximum age is 21 for Group Life and 25 for Group Health but the Insurer also looks at if the parents are still at least 50% responsible for the dependent's support.  Who claims the son as a dependent?  If he is filing his own income taxes and no one claims him, then there could be an issue should a claim arise.  

In health insurance, a provision called,  Time Limit on Certain Defenses allows the insurer to reject a claim and or reject and make the policy Null and Void, even after the two years of time from the effective date has passed, if Fraud is proven.  That means if the insured tries to hide material information, the insurer can deny the claim.  So, be straight up.  Apparently that Coach does not understand the laws of the state and federal governments in regards to Insurance "X's and O's".  

The son can purchase his own policy through any company as long as he is able to show proof of insurability.  A Blue Cross/Blue Shield type contract would cost around $80-150 per month, depending on the deductible selected.  Whoever he is currently enrolled with will allow him to convert to an individual policy (within 31 days) without evidence of insurability.  You may not want to pay for it, but consider the negative sides and then look at the Pros and Cons.

The school has limited coverage for when a player is injured, but if your son is a gray shirt, he likely would not be covered, unless he is injured during an organized practice, and enrolled as a student.



Have a Happy Holiday!

Thom Brooks