Q:
When am I too old to be covered by my parents' insurance policies?
Answer:
It depends on the type of insurance you're talking about. Regarding personal property protection, as long as you continue to live under your parents' roof, your personal belongings will be covered under your parents' homeowners' policy, no matter what your age. However, some policies may limit the amount of coverage on certain items that young adults are likely to own, such as state-of-the-art computers and stereo equipment. Check with your parents to see if there are any such limits in their policy. Once you move into your own apartment, you will need to purchase separate renters insurance to cover your personal belongings (your landlord's insurance will cover physical damage to the apartment itself). As for liability protection, your parents' homeowners' policy (or your renters policy, if you live on your own) will provide you with liability protection. In other words, the policy will cover you in the event someone sues you.
As for auto insurance, if you continue to live with your parents and drive their car (lucky you!), then you are eligible to remain on your parents' car insurance policy. However, once you buy your own car, most insurance companies will require you to obtain your own insurance policy, even if you still live at home. The reason is that they want to avoid confusion over who actually owns the car. Unfortunately, drivers under age 25 pay higher insurance premiums because they are in a higher risk category. Some companies let you remain on your parents' car insurance policy as long as you live at home, even if the car is yours, but you'll need to do some research to identify those companies.
Regarding health insurance, most health plans will cover you until you are somewhere between 20 and 24 years old, regardless of whether you live at home or at college. After this point, you're on your own. If you are a full-time college student, your college will likely offer a health plan during your college years as well. Many students, especially those who live far from home, choose the college's health plan over their parents' plan because the cost is competitive and health services and personnel are close by. After college, you (along with many other recent graduates) may find yourself without health insurance if you are no longer eligible for coverage under your parents' plan (or the college's plan) and you have not yet found a job with health benefits. Temporary options to fill this gap include short-term health insurance, catastrophic coverage, and COBRA.