<p>While the kids in undergrad we used NSSI for insurance and were very happy with it. It was priced well and gave us peace of mind (and low deductibles) </p>
<p>Now DD will be getting an apartment and part of her lease requires he to get a renters policy including liability insurance. She will be renting with another person so I have some questions on how to handle this. </p>
<p>Should they both be on policy or is it ok to just have one on the policy? What are the pros and cons of having one vs. both listed or do you have to list both if they are both living there?</p>
<p>I was thinking of getting the minimum on the property and continuing with the NSSI for that part because I don’t like the idea of a $500 dollar deductible for something like a phone, watch or ipod that cost less than the deductible. I also like the damage/lost item coverage which I think renters policies don’t cover.</p>
<p>Any recommendations for carries in terms of price or service? Anything I should be thinking about that I have not mentioned?</p>
<p>We use a state specific carrier for our homeowners policy so the carrier we use is not an option.</p>
<p>I would get the renter’s insurance with whomever you have your auto insurance with. You will get a discount on the plan for having auto and renters. Your DD will have to have her own policy unless her roommates are related to her. It’s cheep, $10-15/month assuming she doesn’t have 1000’s and 1000’s worth of stuff in there. Usually you see $15,000 for property coverage (her stuff) on a basic plan and for most college kids that is enough. You can add riders for things like computers, etc. that eliminates the deductibles (in most states) however think carefully about filing claims for small items as your premiums will increase. I would get an insurance policy for the phone from a cell phone insurance company carrier and NOT file a claim with renter’s insurance for something that small.</p>
<p>The other thing you will get with renter’s insurance that you won’t have with your current plan is if the apartment is unlivable because of a fire or other covered loss, they will pay for a place for her (above the cost of her current place) as well as gas if it is farther away from current place, extra food costs, etc. The liability is also very important. Say she leaves her flat iron on and it starts a fire. She would be responsible for covering the damage costs-the liability on the renter’s policy would cover that.</p>
<p>A different viewpoint: When I was shopping I was advised NOT to put the plan under our homeowners so that claims wouldn’t count against the family policy. I pay about $100 per year through CSI. We haven’t made any claims. You can do a search in the parent forum (one up from this one) to find more - this has been discussed many times.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input SteveMA, unfortunately the auto is the same as our homeowners which is a state specific plan so I can’t use them. But I am curious about having to get a separate policy from the roommate since they aren’t related. So, if the building requires that the unit have 300,000 would they each only have to get 150,000 or do they each need 300,000. I guess I will actually have to talk to an agent and the building manager. I do like the idea of their property coverage being separate since one of their claims won’t affect the others claim history. </p>
<p>I agree about a different policy for her small stuff and property too. As I said above I plan to keep her NSSI for all of the reasons everyone is mentioning.</p>
<p>AllThisIsNewToMe, I agree the CSI (or NSSI) is the best choice for dorm insurance, but in an apartment, or at least this one which is actually a rented condo, the rules of the building state that each renter must have liability insurance which means an actual renters policy. </p>
<p>BulldogBlue, so far in comparing on line quotes it seems State Farm was less expensive than Allstate. I guess I have a few more to look into.</p>
<p>BDB, if you are moving into graduate housing owned by the university, you might not need full renters insurance. Check with them. If you just need to cover your own property then a plan from NSSI or CSI would work for you. It will be less expensive, have lower deductibles and cover loss regardless of how it happens including damage cause by anything. We have used NSSI for years and have been very happy with them, a lot of people also happy with CSI.</p>
<p>AllThisIsNewToMe–a renter’s policy is a separate policy, not connected with your homeowners. It is basically a homeowner’s policy for people in apartments. It doesn’t provide building coverage like your homeowner’s would (roof damage for example) but if you do damage to the building that is your fault, the liability in the policy would cover it.</p>
<p>parentofpeople-look to one of the “name brand” carriers like State Farm, American Family, etc. I would get $300,000 each. You might not have a choice as that is a typical base limit for liability. Adding liability coverage isn’t expensive for a rental plan-probably an extra $2/month for a $200,000 more in coverage roughly. You won’t have a choice but to get their own plans anyway. Insurance companies just won’t write the policies with non-related people on the policy unless they are in business together. It just isn’t done (not really legal either). Does she have a car? If so, she will probably have to move off your family policy and on to her own policy. Usually the discount for having both her car and apartment with the same company pays for the renter’s plan and then some (unless she has really crappy credit).</p>
<p>Thanks again Steve. I will call some companies this week and get it set up. She will tell her apartment mate to do the same. So if there is a problem in the apartment, where their liability kicks in how do they decide who’s policy will be responsible? </p>
<p>She won’t have a car as she will be in the city. The car she has been using, is still in our name and will stay on our policy. She is currently listed as the primary driver on that car and I am wondering if we can remove her from our insurance and not have her listed at all. Since she is still a student, she can stay on our policy but I am wondering if she has to or if there is a reason to keep her on.</p>
<p>They probably won’t be able to talk to you to set up a policy for her. She is over 18, they will have to talk to her. Have her call. Yes, you can take her off as primary if she isn’t living with you.</p>
<p>Lets say that someone gets injured in their apartment, or their bathtub leaks and damages the apartment below, who’s policy would cover that? Would they take half the liability from each of them?</p>
<p>I’m not sure about the injury, I would assume that persons medical coverage would cover their injury. But the bathtub leaks wouldn’t be something for a renters policy, that would be covered by the property manager and owner. You don’t own the property so are not liable for repairs unless it is outright damage caused by you.</p>
<p>Great info everyone, thanks. I talked to an agent this morning and found out the info I needed. Of course as usual the CC panel had it correct (never a doubt). They will be getting separate policies and each will decide for themselves how much property loss and deductible to carry. Each will get 300k liability. They did say while they were technically able to be on the same policy even though they aren’t related, they don’t recommend it. That way each of their claims won’t show up on the others claim history. I think I will get her the lowest property loss with the highest deductible, and keep the nssi policy for her property.</p>
<p>AllThis, it will be a standalone with a completely different company. Our current carrier only handles auto and homeowners in our state as it is through a state business organization. For anyone curious the costs ranged from about $105 to $120 per year with 300k liability and anywhere from 5k to 20k property with either a 100/250 or 500 deductible. So not much difference in price for the various options from carriers and coverage amounts.</p>