MD Mom

Well, I procrastinated in buying a renter's policy for DD this year. Today, her apartment was burglarized. She was not in the apartment and everything can be replaced, but it will cost us.

Also, remind your kids to pull those outside building doors shut and use thse deadbolts.

psychmomma

Oh no! That's awful! How frustrating to need to replace things. Is your D ok? I'm sure it is an unsettling feeling. I've been waiting - don't know why - but will get both kids signed up before we launch. S's just sent me the email to renew. I'm glad they do that, it makes it easy.

oldfort

Thank-you for the reminder. We are moving into a rental, and I just signed up for insurance after reading this thread. I also reminded D1 just in case if she didn't take one out.

I hope your D is ok. It's a personal violation even if things could be replace.

SteveMA

MD Mom--if she is still a college student, her things might be at least partially covered under your policy. It's worth checking. Glad to hear she wasn't physically harmed but it's still emotionally difficult.

oldfort

I just took out renter's insurance for our apartment, listed D2 as an occupant in our apartment. Would she be covered under our insurance for her dorm?

SteveMA

Unless your state has some goofy rule about property away from home, she should be covered in her dorm. Keep in mind that most policies really limit electronics (computers, etc.) so you may want to have your agent schedule out the computer equipment specifically. Often scheduled items have $0 deductible--just make sure it's worth filing a claim as your rates will go up. If she has any musical instruments or any expensive sporting equipment, schedule those as well.

MissManda42

My Mom andI are actually in the process of getting renters insurance for my things in the dorm, but we've been postponing it due to an ill aunt. It'll cover more than just theft but damage due to weather, disasters, or impromptu football through the dorms.

Hopefully it'll be something I never really need, but I think it's a good insurance investment. I'm glad your daughter wasn't home and that she's okay.

TXArtemis

This student property insurance carrier is often recommended here. http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/ There is one other one--I hope someone will add it to this thread. Both policies have generated positive feedback on claim experience, too--we had to make a claim for iPhone theft, and it was promptly paid with a minimum of paperwork.

The pros include low cost, expansive covered risks, policy covers student no matter where in the world they are, the policy term is a year and includes summer and other breaks. The only con I can think of is the risk of double coverage with a parent policy.

Even if the parent homeowner/renter policy will extend, the deductible may be high (especially relative to the value of the college kid item) and the covered risks may be limited, plus I wouldn't want to be incurring claim experience against my homeowners for college kid stuff only to see my premiums rise or risk cancelation.

weatherga

^^^ Strongly agree with TXArtemis. The deductible on our homeowner policy is high and we absolutely don't want to mess with our premiums by making a claim.

We have not yet purchased the dorm policy although will do that soon. The other carrier is Affordable Laptop Insurance, College Student Insurance, Personal Property, & Laptop Theft | National Student Sevices

Both CSI and NSSI are well recommended and appear pretty similar.

thumper1

She should be. Ask your provider. Our kids' belongings were covered when they were students regardless of where they lived. We had a couple of riders for some expensive items that they had.

megpmom

We just added riders for their laptops to our homeowners insurance. It also covers water damage, and we needed it. $250 deductible for $1000 repair.

SteveMA

If you want to cover cell phones and smaller dollar items like that then the policies like TXArtemis suggests are the way to go. Just weigh the cost of those policies against the replacement cost of the phone or whatever. They are good because they don't ding your homeowners policy for a claim.

annay49

I had the CSI policy and it saved me when my screen on my phone fully cracked. Since I was on a contract they paid the full value for a new phone, which ended up being over 500 dollars! My check was processed and arrived within days, I would recommend it to any college student.

Lergnom

We've used NSSI. They promptly paid for a new laptop screen when it was broken in a library after being knocked off a table. You can select to cover accidental damage or not. We did and that was $625 saved.

Now in total cost, we've now paid about $130 a year for more years than the $625 claim. But that's why insurers make money.

MD Mom

Thank you all. My husband checked our policy and it looks as though some things may be covered. Ours is a little company, so I need to wait until Monday to call.

Her laptop was not in the apartment, nor was her purse, debit card, etc., so that is good. She is shaken and her apartment mate is out of the country, so she does not want to stay there alone. I am a worrywart, so we are going to look into a wireless alarm system.

We have ad the same insurance for decades, and we have not made a claim since 1983, so we are putting in a claim if we can. Thanks again everyone.