美國高等教育的學費逐年高升，一般平民百姓不是隨便就能負擔的起，所以學貸成為許多人的選擇。而為因應有人付了高昂的學費，卻無法完成學業而產生的損失，保險公司現在推出了「學費保險」保單。每個學期以數百美元的保費，買到數萬美元的理賠。越來越多的學校開始與保險公司合作，提供學生這項立意良善的服務。
每年到了檢討台灣高等教育的費用時，一有調漲的風吹草動，就會聽到一些學生或家長團體，大聲疾呼要求凍漲。老實說，在台灣念大學一學期從兩萬多到五、六萬的費用，比起出國留學真的太便宜了。曾經在我 SAT 課程的班上，就有同學算過在美國念好一點的私立高中，每年要花到 300 多萬台幣，換算下來就是一天一萬台幣。老實說，不是家底深厚，是付不起這樣的學費的。
但是學費貴歸貴，念個好科系出來找個好工作，一、兩年學費就賺回來了。像我們同學中有念 Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) 資工所 (computer science)，兩年畢業出來找到工作，年薪就十多萬美金，所以當初一年六萬美金的學雜生活費，馬上就回本。
不過，天有不測風雲，人有旦夕禍福。萬一投下了高額的學費，卻因為身體或心理問題無法完成學業，那麼這些學費難道就這樣丟到水裡了嗎？保險公司看到了這種避險的需求，因此提供了學費保險 (tuition insurance) 保單。
華爾街日報 (Wall Street Journal) 日前就報導的這項服務的源起以及目前服務的方式與範圍。 點選此處看原文。 如果無法點閱原文，可以看下方：
By Douglas Belkin
August 18, 2018
As college tuition rises so too has demand for insurance to cover what in many cases is among a family’s biggest investments.
For Mindy DiCostra, a tuition-insurance policy was a life-saver last year after her daughter withdrew mid-semester in her junior year at Marymount Manhattan College in New York following an allergic reaction to an anxiety medication.
Because Ms. DiCostra agreed to pay $238 for tuition insurance when doing paperwork for the school, she was eligible to receive a full reimbursement for the $16,000 in tuition she and her husband had paid for the semester.
“I had no idea how important it would be when I checked that box,” she said.
Tuition insurance protects families in case their son or daughter has to drop out of school past the point at which a school offers tuition reimbursement, usually around halfway through the semester. Driving the increased demand are higher college costs and, to a lesser extent, rising mental-health disorders among college students that have raised concerns among parents that their children may struggle away from home.
About 70,000 policies were written across the U.S. market last year, up from 20,000 five years ago, said John Fees, co-founder of GradGuard, which started selling tuition-reimbursement insurance seven years ago. It works with campuses including the University of Pennsylvania, Auburn University and New York University, its website says.
“The cost of college is driving this,” said Mr. Fees. “Families cannot afford the loss of $30,000.”
The average published tuition and fees at a private college has increased to $34,740 in 2017 from $15,160 in 1988 according to the College Board. The numbers are adjusted for inflation.
“I think a lot of families don’t fully grasp that if they have to withdraw midterm it can have a significant financial impact,” said Paige Lee Director of Tuition Insurance at Allianz. College is “the second largest investment most families will ever make” after a home.
Most schools have some sort of reimbursement policy but they generally don’t cover withdrawals during the second half of the semester. At Vanderbilt University, a student will be reimbursed for some portion of his or her tuition and room and board up until about halfway through the semester. After that, they don’t receive anything.
Tuition and housing at Vanderbilt costs about $59,000, and 80% of that can be reimbursed with insurance, which costs about $530, said Chris Cook, who oversees the financial accounts of students at the school.
Several companies provide tuition insurance, Most policies charge in the neighborhood of 1% of the cost of school. A semester that runs $30,000 would cost about $300. At least 200 schools now work with insurers, offering the coverage to families when the pay the tuition bill.
Liberty Mutual Insurance started offering tuition-reimbursement policies this year, in part because of consumer demand. When a student drops out mid-semester parents are often “very surprised to learn that you may not get anything back,” said Michele Chevalier, a senior director at Liberty Mutual.
Not everyone thinks the plans are necessary. Jodi Okun, a college financial adviser in Los Angeles, said she has so far steered her clients away from tuition insurance because she doesn’t feel it is necessary in most cases. However, she has but counseled them to be aware of the timeline for withdrawals, so if a student is struggling with a mental-health issue they can leave in time to recoup the cost.
“I tell them, make sure you know when the deadlines are, especially if they are going far away to school,” she said.
Plans don’t typically cover students who drop out for academic or disciplinary reasons but will for medical reasons. Generally, insurers don’t ask about pre-existing conditions, either mental or physical. The idea, GradGuard’s Mr. Fees said, is: “If a student is healthy enough to start to a semester, they qualify.”
Insurers say that the number of claims they receive citing mental health incidents has risen. As many as one in four students at some elite U.S. colleges are now classified as disabled, largely because of mental-health issues such as depression or anxiety, according to the National Center for Education Statistics and interviews with schools.
Carmen Duarte, a spokesperson for A.W.G. Dewar, Inc. which has been offering tuition-reimbursement policies since the 1930s, said claims have remained flat for physical-health incidents but increased for mental-health reasons. She said policies are most likely to be bought by families of first year students. Allianz Insurance, which began selling the policies in 2015, said about 20% of claims were for mental health and 70% were for physical health.
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