Part-time students searching for a good buy should consider student health insurance.

Regina Crosby, manager of NIU’s student insurance office, said, “(Student insurance) is one of the best buys on campus, insurance would be well over $100 a month in the outside world.” The cost for the insurance per semester is $121.63.

Students taking between six and eleven hours at NIU need to go to Diversions Lounge before Sept. 8 if they wish to purchase student insurance, Crosby said. Students taking between one and five hours are ineligible.

Full-time students are enrolled automatically, and the charge appears on their student bill, said Crosby.

For those full-time students who wish to cancel their student insurance, they must also go to Diversions lounge before Sept. 8. Students wishing to cancel must then show a copy of their family health insurance identification card or a letter indicating they are insured by the company who is insuring them, Crosby said.

Interestingly, in a year of a double-digit tuition increase, student insurance premiums have actually decreased 3 percent from last year, Crosby said.

Crosby attributes the decrease to a policy change after the 1990-91 school year: “1991-92 was the first year we went to secondary payer status.”

This change allows for family insurance or employer insurance policies to pay primary coverage when a student is jointly covered. This policy change contributed to a 47 percent drop in the amount the insurance company paid out last year, Crosby said.

Crosby also said she thinks the savings will continue next year as well.