Does Your College Student Need Renters Insurance?

With young adults heading off to college, we often get the question “Does my college student need renters insurance?” We put together this blog to cover what you need to know about insurance and your college student. Sending a child off to college is a significant milestone that represents the culmination of years of planning and hard work. As you prepare for the start of the semester, you should consider how your insurance needs may change with your son or daughter away at school.

Protecting Your Student’s Belongings

Many homeowners policies consider a dorm room as an extension of your home, so items your child keeps there may be covered to some extent. However, if your child has expensive electronic equipment or furniture, you may want to consider purchasing additional coverage.

If your child lives off campus, his or her possessions may not be covered by your homeowners policy. In that case, you may want to consider renter’s insurance, which costs as little as $15 per month. Renter’s insurance will cover possessions in your child’s off-campus apartment or house as well as provide liability coverage if anyone is injured in the residence.

Calculating Your College Student Renters Insurance Needs

Unexpected events like theft, vandalism or fires can wreak havoc on your personal belongings and cost you a fortune. Renters insurance is an affordable way to protect your belongings from losses—losses that can be far more costly than you may expect.

Let’s examine what renters insurance covers and how to calculate your policy needs.

What Renters Insurance Covers

While policies can vary, most offer coverage for the following:

• Personal property coverage: This helps cover the costs to repair or replace belongings that are damaged or stolen due to a loss covered under your policy. Furniture, electronics and clothing can all be covered under personal property coverage. Although landlords typically have a form of property insurance, their policy does not usually cover any personal property within your living space.
• Additional living expenses: If the apartment or home you’re renting becomes uninhabitable, your renters insurance policy can pay for your relocation costs as well as anything considered an extra expense under the policy—such as laundry, meal or storage-related costs.
• Personal liability coverage: If someone is injured or their personal items are damaged on your rented property due to negligence, personal liability coverage can help pay any medical bills or damages, up to your policy limit.

How Much Renters Insurance Do I Need?

In order to determine the amount of coverage you need for your renters policy, there are a few things you can do:

• Create a home inventory checklist—Simply making this list can help you take note of what your possessions are worth and decide how much renters insurance you would like to purchase. This checklist may also become useful in the event that you have to file an insurance claim—all your possessions and their values are already laid out for you.
• Deciding on any additional coverage—Once you’ve determined how much your items are worth, you can now decide if you need additional coverage. It may be useful to increase your policy limits to cover your more valuable items or get a separate policy for certain items such as jewelry or artwork.
• Pick the best deductible for you—A deductible is how much you pay before your insurer starts paying for a covered incident. A higher deductible plan means your payments will be cheaper, but you’ll have to pay more out of pocket in the event of a claim.

Changing Auto Insurance Coverage

If your child moves more than 100 miles away from your home to attend school and doesn’t keep a vehicle there, your auto insurance premiums could decrease by as much as 30 percent. Call us today at 209-634-2929, and see if you can save money while still maintaining coverage for your child when he or she is at home.

Insurance Questions to Ask

Here are some important questions to ask when your child goes to college:

• Will my child’s belongings be covered if he or she lives in off-campus housing?
• Do I have to change my auto policy if my child brings the car to school?
• If my child is an athlete, will he or she be covered under my family health plan if he or she is injured during a practice or game?

Count on GDI Insurance Agency, Inc.

If you are sending a child off the college and haven’t looked at adjusting your coverage, contact GDI Insurance Agency, Inc. today at 209-634-2929 to learn more. You could save money on your policies and protect your child from expensive incidents while away from home.