<p>S2 is moving off campus at the end of the semester. He will be sharing a house with three friends.
A parent of one of the roommates sent me an email tonight proposing that we get renter’s insurance to cover the guys in their new place.</p>
<p>DH says that he thinks S2 will be covered under our Homeowner’s policy as long as he is our dependent and in school (that we pay for). </p>
<p>Does anybody know if that’s true or do we need a separate renter’s policy.</p>
<p>I tried to look it up on our insurer’s website but found no answer.</p>
<p>When son went off to college I bought insurance from nssi (or something like that). $150 a yr. Now that he is a grad student, we continued with the policy. The 5 or 6K replacement value is enough to cover the few belongings he has. It covers his belongings wherever they are. I wouldn’t want to put a claim against our homeowners policy, even if we could.</p>
<p>Good timing on this post…My S too will be moving off campus next year to share an apartment with a roomate. I asked my friend just last night about renters insurance. She handles our home owners insurance and said he will need a seperate policy for the apartment. She did inform me that they are very cheap.</p>
<p>I think it depends on your homeowner’s insurance as to whether or not your student is covered. If they are not, there are two companies I’m familiar with that specialize in student insurance: CSI as mentioned earlier and NSSI ([National</a> Student Services, Inc.](<a href=“http://www.nssi.com/]National”>http://www.nssi.com/)). Both have been around awhil. This is something students should have if not covered under the parent’s homeowner’s insurance, even if they are in university housing.</p>
<p>won’t your local insurer return your calls? You are interested in learning more about insurance, yet your local agent won’t return your calls?
Time to look for a new agent.</p>
<p>I checked this out through my agent last year concerning my S who was going OOS.</p>
<p>There was coverage under my homeowners’ policy so long as S did not formally take up residence out of state. That had to do with S voting in our state rather than in the state where he attends college.</p>
<p>OMG! He has 200k of property he needs to insure for his first time in a real apt? I’d urge him to store his jewelry and furs at Mom and Dads- it’s way too risky to be a college boy with roommates and having that kind of valuables in the same home.</p>
<p>younghoss, I did not say anything about unreturned calls. I said I tried to find info. on the website last night but was not successful.</p>
<p>I did talk to someone in my State Farm agents office today.
I was told that our Homeowners’ Policy would cover S2 for up to 10% of our policy’s value. In our case that would be $18,000 with a $500 deductible. S2’s possesions prob. don’t amount to more than $2500 at most (and that’s counting every dirty sock).</p>
<p>Since he is covered under our policy, she recommended that instead of getting an additional Renter’s Policy which would also have a $500 deductible, I might want to consider getting a policy that just covers his laptop which is the most likely thing to get stolen or broken at college. This policy would cost $50/yr. with no deductible. </p>
<p>The renter’s policy does cover liability which our policy would not cover on his college rental house. That may be something to consider. I’ll have to pass on all this info to DH tonight and decide what our best option is. </p>
<p>It’s funny, S1 will grad. in May and we never even thought of getting insurance for him. I guess we just assumed our HO policy would cover him and didn’t worry about it.
Thank goodness he hasn’t needed it (knock on wood)</p>
<p>I think now you get my point, Packmom. The best place to find out more about renters insurance is calling an agent rather than seeking advice from college moms and dads.</p>
<p>Just checked d’s policy & I was mistaken. Her policy is for $300,000 liability & 10,000 personal stuff. The price is $76 for the year. Can you beat that then younghoss is that what you’re insinuating? $500 deductible, so what?
This works for any students that live/go to school out of state. Our homeowners wouldn’t cover her because of that.
Good luck!</p>
<p>Melsmom, your coverage is larger than my D’s, however her deductible is tiny by comparison. $5,000 coverage with a $25 deductible, cost $85 for the year.</p>
<p>When I was in law school, an unfortunate building fire burned the entire rental building of two of my friends. Fortunately no one was injured. Beside loosing all the furniture and refrigerator(no lap tops in those days) they had nothing to wear. </p>
<p>If you can get a good policy for a couple of hundred dollars or less, it is probably worth it. It might make more sense to get it from a place doing business in that state, because in the event of a loss, it might be easier for them to see the premises if necessary. Also, for liability, maybe a separate policy would be better in the event of loss. What if the other kids in the apartment are not covered. Could your liability limits be tapped more than they should be? It is not always a question of coverage vs. money if there are others in the enterprise.</p>
<p>I guess it is an education that student apartments might require liability insurance. I never had to do this personally, nor did I require it when I rented my old condos. Of course for business, the renter has to do so. </p>
<p>Last year there was a good thread on insurance for the lap tops.</p>
<p>As a landlord, I am familiar with renter’s insurance. Not an expert, but familiar. Renters insurance typically covers a renters’ personal property while one lives in a rented unit. The landowners’ policy typically covers the building itself, and sometimes furnishings/appliances if the landowner provides them to the tenant.
“Can I beat that?”(post 16). I don’t even know what you are talking about! Beat what? I don’t sell insurance. My post 7 was in response to the OP who didn’t see the info on insurance she was looking for on the insurance website, so she turned here for answers. I was hinting to her that a better alternative was to contact her local agent for info. She later posted that she did, and got the info she was seeking.
My post 12, like GA’s post 9, were questioning the need for $200k of renters insurance, knowing what renters insurance typically covers- the renters’ property. It sounds to me like if $200k or 300k was required of a renter then it isn’t renters insurance, OR it is renters’ insurance plus something else. 300k Liability? Liability for what? Renter’s insurance covers one’s own property. There may be other insurance required by a landowner of a renter, but don’t confuse that with what is commonly known as renters insurance.</p>
<p>Here’s a quote from the State Farm website:
“State Farm® renters insurance is for anyone who rents a home, be it a house or an apartment.
Renters insurance can protect your personal property against fire, theft and vandalism.”</p>
<p>And another, from Allstate:
"Renters Policy
A Renters Policy will protect your personal property the same way it would if you owned a home. Ask your agent about what level of coverage is right for you. "</p>
<p>younghoss, I have never seen a renter’s or homeowners policy that does NOT include liability coverage. Someone who is renting an apt. or a house needs liability insurance just as much as someone who owns a property, and for the same kinds of reasons.</p>