Signing up for Dorm Insurance for my son. NSSI. I want to make sure I have all necessary receipts etc. when I call.
What documents will the Insurance company need in order to add them to policy? (cell, laptop etc). Original receipts? Photos? Any info about porocess is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
I used AJG (Formerly CSI Insurance Agency, Inc.) to get a dorm policy for my daughter - they did not ask for any receipts, etc.for $5,000 coverage.
We have filed one claim each for our kids with the company formerly known as CSI. We didn’t need any documentation when we opened the policy.
When we filed for the claims (and one claim was pretty substantial with over a dozen items- a backpack stolen while traveling abroad) we did need to submit receipts for items valued at over $100 (but not under) and proof of current student status (the summer did count on this SA theft)
For the theft they also requested a police report, but since the theft happened when leaving the country they accepted a note from someone associated with the program that a theft had occurred. For the damaged iPod screen (the second claim) they wanted an estimate before cutting the check.
I heard from someone recently with NSSI that a phone repair was sent to a recommended repair shop, this is second hand knowledge. With CSI we could have repair done anywhere. Replacement costs for stolen items were for items on Amazon of current equivalent models.
Like @jackief, we also have had a claim with CSI (now A. J. Gallagher) for each kid at college and the company has been easy to work with.
For DD’s dropped iphone, we just took it to the Apple store. We did this even before we contacted CSI. This happened last August two days before she was heading back for fall semester, so she need a new phone immediately. They just wanted the paperwork from apple, proof of enrollment and ownership (ie a screenshot of my AT&T bill showing the phone on my plan). Apple said it was not fixable and sold us a refurbished phone. The check for what we paid Apple, minus the deductible, was on its way.
For DS, about four years ago, he had $1,200 in designer clothes in his laundry bag stolen from his dorm’s laundry service - he did attend a school known as “J Crew U” and dressed the part. (This happend the last week of the semester - the semester he pledged his fraternity, so almost every article of clothing he owned was crammed into that laundry bag!) He needed the police report (campus police was fine), proof of enrollment, an estimate of value, and proof of ownership. He made an excel spreadsheet itemizing the type of clothes (shirts, pants, jeans, jackets) stolen and replacement cost. We of course did not normally save register receipts for clothes, but CSI was flexible and would take debit/credit card statements to show purchases that could account for such items. Since we were claiming name brand clothes, they needed to see charges at stores like Macy’s, Nordstrom, J Crew etc., not Wal-Mart or Target for the amounts we were claiming. (Luckily, our kids do almost all their shopping on one or two days, so it was not too hard to reconstruct things.) The check came a couple weeks later.
Since DS’ incident, we have started saving receipts spent for “back to school” clothes shopping in a big envelope, along with the laptop, printer, TV etc receipts - just in case we need to go through a reconstruction again! Dorm insurance has been a good purchase - DS’ claim alone more than paid for 4 years of coverage for himself and his sister.
We’ve also found A.J. Gallagher/CSI easy to work with. My older son had his phone stolen during a summer internship in NYC. We needed to provide a police report as well as proof of ownership and proof that we’d called our cell company to report the phone as stolen. His phone was a two year old Android phone - they paid use $325 for it which was what it would have cost us to replace the phone. I was very pleased. The reimbursement check wasn’t terribly fast but I was happy in general with everything.
We also have the same insurance for my younger son. He’s on the golf team so we made sure to take pictures of all his clubs. And as others have said, we’ve started saving receipts along with serial numbers of their computers, phones, etc. Hopefully we won’t need it but just in case…
And the same - their reimbursement of my older son’s phone more than paid for a year’s coverage.
Are these policies expensive?
Are you buying these policies because your homeowner’s policy doesn’t cover your child’s stuff while he/she is away at school? Otherwise, I can’t see spending the money on dorm insurance. For those who are considering it, check with your insurance company first to see what it covers.
The deductible on a homeowner’s policy is almost always MUCH higher than the deductible on a dorm insurance policy. Also, filing a claim on your homeowner’s policy can cause rate increases. But the best reason is because these dorm insurance policies cover accidental damage, not just loss and theft. And they even pay if the loss occurs away from school (study abroad, etc.). The premiums aren’t very high, either.
For example, my kids’ policy costs @ $130 for $5,000 of coverage with a $25 deductible.
What I don’t think anyone has mentioned in this thread is that these are replacement cost policies and you do not have to specify the value of any particular asset. The major draw is that accidental damage is covered - spill a beer on your laptop or drop it and crack the screen, you get a new one! That type of coverage is not usually available from your homeowners policies.
Remember, most homeowners policies have $1,000 deductibles and only cover personal property against specifically defined hazzards. Even if you add a rider to cover your laptop with a special lower deductible - the rider will usually only cover theft, not accidental damage. The worst part, is if you make a claim, THE CLAIM WILL COUNT AGAINST YOUR HOMEOWNERS POLICY.
Unfortunately, if you have a couple of claims on your homeowners policy, you will likely be dropped. Once you are dropped, very few if any “good” insurance companies will be interested in providing coverage. You will be stuck with a “non-standard” company paying much higher premiums, for worse coverage, from a company that will likely fight you tooth and nail before ever paying any claim - not recommended.
I could easily eat the $5,000 if I had to. But, as I explained above, all you need is one claim to make this policy cash flow positive over a college career.
Cross posted with @patsmom.
Insurance is always an interesting topic - there are a variety of opinions. Some people buy every policy offered and others refuse to buy auto policies requires by law! Everyone has their own opinion. We decided mom and dad would buy this policy and if the kids were careless or unfortunate enough to have a claim, they covered the deductible and deal with the insurance company.
These policies are a good idea for the reasons that have been previously mentioned. Low deductibles, keeping the claims experience away from your Homeowners policy and having breakage coverage for electronics.
The premium expense is very reasonable also.
our experiences (price of policy and what it covered, and reasons for getting it) are the same as ChicagoBear.
We have had firsthand experience with NSSI. We needed documentation, including a police report, because the item was above a certain value. Once we provided it, everything went smoothly and S was reimbursed.
We got this for DS. So far he hasn’t had to use it… But I know if we don’t get it something will happen and we will have needed it.
@chicagobear, I know all about being dropped! Fifteen years ago we were out of town for a week and an ice dam built up on our roof and under the shingles and melted its way into our home, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage. We had never ever had a claim, but we were summarily dropped. It took about 5 years with no claims I think to get back in good graces with lower premiums. Makes you think twice about filing a claim, that’s for sure. I think I will look into this dorm insurance after all.
Just the $25 deductible alone made it worth the cost to us. Our insurance company doesn’t cover cell phones at all and the deductible for computers was really high - I think $500? It pretty much made it not worth dealing with our insurance. And of course, as others have mentioned, there’s the fear of higher premiums or even being dropped if you dare file a claim.
I guess a lot depends on your situation and kids. We never bought this type of insurance and would not have needed it for either of them. Our credit card reimbursed us when each of their respective laptops stopped functioning properly. We got full reimbursement with our Costco AmEx credit card. They only required that we send the broken item to a they specified for an estimate and evaluation as to whether the item could be repaired (which CC paid for shipping and evaluation). We got a full refund.
Each of the kids did have a cell phone stolen. Fortunately for each of them, they were able to get an old phone that allowed them to continue until they were eligible for a free new phone with our cell phone contract.
Have read of folks who have found it valuable to have the insurance, as posted above, but no personal experience. Our kids are now out of college & 25 and 27 and still haven’t had much theft, loss or damage to their property.
Thanks so much for helpful info. I wasn’t familiar with these policies at all, but will look into them for our son when he goes to college next year.
We bought a college rider from our USAA insu co. It paid for itself with the repairs/replacement to broken laptops.
Just a reminder to consider signing up for dorm insurance. My step daughter has to pay 300 bucks to get her computer screen fixed. Would have been covered under dorm policy, even if living off campus.