(ARA) – Soon, millions of parents will send their children off to college for the first time. As the car pulls out of the driveway, they will reflect with nostalgia as their children embark on the next adventure in their lives – while they are acutely aware of how much of an investment they are making in their education.

But what if, mid-semester, your son or daughter becomes ill and has to leave school? While the student will lose ground in working toward a diploma, parents may lose their financial investment in that semester.

Parents may mistakenly believe that colleges refund tuition in the case of unexpected illness, injury or even death. In fact, a 2010 study by College Parents of America indicates that many colleges do not refund tuition or fees after the fifth week of classes.

Although it is unclear exactly how many college students withdraw from courses, Eric Weil of Student Monitor reports that in a 2009 study “nearly one-third of students either themselves experienced or had a close friend who experienced a mid-semester withdrawal from college due to a medical condition or a death in their immediate family.”

One insurance product, GradGuard, offered by Next Generation Insurance Group, LLC, offers refund of tuition should a student need to leave school due to illness, disability or death. “College tuition, academic fees and room and board costs average more than $15,000 annually at a public college or university and more than $35,000 at a private institution,” says John Fees, co-founder and CEO of Next Generation Insurance Group, LLC. “For most families, that is a staggering investment, and until now, it was at risk if an injury, illness or death of a parent caused the student to leave school mid-semester. Tuition insurance protects against the loss of that investment.”

With rising costs of college and tightening family budgets, James A. Boyle, president of College Parents of America, believes there is great need for tuition refund insurance. “Not only has tuition risen dramatically in the past 10 years, but the risks facing college students that threaten their ability to complete a semester or an academic year have increased as well,” says Boyle. “College tuition refund policies have grown stricter, so typically, parents are not able to recover their money if their student is forced to withdraw more than five weeks into the semester for medical reasons including sickness, mental health or disability.”

In the past, only a portion of the nation’s college students, attending mostly expensive private colleges, could insure this risk.

GradGuard’s tuition refund insurance program provides up to $50,000 of annual tuition insurance and is available to students attending any accredited college. It covers more than just the loss of tuition payment, with coverage for academic fees, room and board, books and travel to/from the academic program.

According to Boyle, “Not all families need $50,000 of annual coverage, but virtually every student would likely benefit from having at least $5,000 of annual coverage. Even if your college has a generous refund policy, it is unlikely that you will ever be refunded the cost of books or room and board.” As a result, College Parents of America’s standard annual membership includes this base amount of tuition refund insurance.

Tuition insurance also includes benefits like emergency medical evacuation insurance, identity theft protection and resolution services and insurance for personal computers. Keep in mind that if a student withdraws because of academic failure or if they simply want to “drop out,” parents cannot expect any refund. To learn more, go to www.gradguard.com/tuition or call (877) 556-3984.