Insurance as a College Prerequisite

As you and son/s or daughter/s prepares for their new college experience away from home, there is so much to do before that time. Even before class registration, moving requires so much planning. There is clothes shopping, meal planning, tuition installments, book buys and other school supply purchases, so who needs to worry about insurance coverage.

You do.

Theft while at class or on semester or spring break occurs much more than we realize. Thieves watch for student traffic patterns, and know how to quickly raid empty apartments and dorm rooms.

Although using your home policy may seem like a good idea to cover your children’s property while they are away from school, there are some major drawbacks with this. First off, you homeowner policy typically may carry a significant deductible of $500 to $1000. If a TV, computer, laptop, and tablet or high end sound system is stolen from your son’s or daughter’s apartment, you may be stuck with contributing as much as half or more of the item’s replacement cost. In addition the filed claim can reduce your insurability in the future or possibly cause an unexpected and unwelcome premium increase.

It may be more advantageous to purchase a rental policy just for this need. Generally, these student policies aren’t all that expensive and require a smaller deductible which better matches the value of the students’ possessions.

We may not wish to think we putting our children at any risk when we drop them off at school in late summer or early fall, however statistics at most major universities will show that theft accounts for property theft to the tune of tens of thousands o thousands of dollars on or around campuses.

Often, these renter’s policies contain liability coverage which protects you from legal and medical fees should a friend or visitor get hurt or an adjoining unit is damaged from water or damage which originated from your children’s room/s.

All of this added protection can’t be provided or duplicated in another way. Even though college seems like a short term situation, there is no guarantee that any of these mentioned perils won’t affect your loved ones while away at school. To avoid your family any unnecessary financial losses, please make sure that rental insurance isn’t overlooked during all the other things going on during this major living transition.