It’s that time of year when students are heading to dorms and off-campus rentals in houses and apartments.
College students are preparing to head into their dorms or off-campus rentals, bringing quite a bit to jam into small spaces, while parents continue to seek out the best renters insurance to make sure all those possessions are covered against the unexpected.
Accidents, fires, thefts and others can leave uncovered students on the hook for replacement expenses.
Many parents know that renters insurance is their best option to make sure that even if the worst should happen, they will be reimbursed for most – if not all – the possessions damaged or lost in the unexpected event.
That said, there are many parents that don’t realize that possessions aren’t covered by the building’s coverage as is the case when those possessions are stored at home. While they may be covered by a parent’s homeowners’ policy when the student is living at home, the same cannot be said about the property coverage in a rental. That coverage includes only the building itself and not the contents.
There are some home policies that will extend to belongings of children going away to school, but it is very important to check the policy to see if that applies to existing coverage and if what is included is enough.
Renters insurance is often not required for dorm residents as coverage may extend from parents’ home coverage.
However, a student’s parents’ home policy will only provide coverage if the student had been living with the parents before moving to school and if that student is under a set age, which is typically 24 years old. If addresses have changed, the student is too old for the coverage or if residency has been declared in a different state, an additional policy is likely necessary.
Choosing the right renters insurance means making sure that the policy will provide enough coverage to pay for everything that could be lost if a disaster such as a fire were to destroy it all. It’s important to keep in mind that today’s college students typically own quite a few electronics and other expensive items that would be costly to replace. The policy will need to provide coverage for those items, even if they need to be itemized with the insurer.
