Home & Renters Insurance for College Students

When in college living away from home means that you need to ensure your possessions and property are insured against damage, theft and lost adequately. Therefore, insurance companies developed special home insurances for students but still students of the United States represent one of the most under-insured groups in the nation. So the question that you have to ask yourself really is… can you readily afford replacing any of your possessions regardless of the amount and value?

Parents’ Home Insurance

One of the biggest reasons for college students to think about not being insured on their own is thinking that their parents’ home insurance will automatically cover for any loss, damage or theft that might occur. However, the extent of coverage of a college student’s possessions is entirely depending on the home insurance policy of his or her parents meaning that if your parents have a mortgage, they might as well have a home owner’s insurance package that covers their mortgage repayments, the value of the property and the contents within that property. This insurance will cover your property and possessions while you are living at home, but once you are attending college, living away from home it is clear the your parents will need some special clauses in their contract to cover your possessions as well.

Do college student need home owners insurance?

Home owners insurance is basically essential to cover up any potential expenses you might incur if the property you own, which, as a college student almost never is the case, is being damaged or destroyed and this policy should wholly cover the property or possessions inside your residence. While being a student you mostly live in a university-owned or rented house so therefore such insurance is not necessary at all because the building will be insured by its owner and not the people living in it. However, this fact doesn’t mean that your property and possessions will be covered by the buildings owner’s insurance and as a matter of important fact it should be in your best interest to assume that your things won’t be insured.

Insurance for property and possessions?

Living or renting in university-owned housing means considering purchasing renter’s insurance policy for being able to get quotes based on whether you just want your property covered against theft, or if you want to include accidental damage and loss through your own fault. You can even consider getting renters insurance policy that will include coverage paying the medical bills for any injuries you sustain while living in your new accommodations. Let the insurance companies know if the property you are living in has external door locks, a professional burglar alarm and other safety devices such as fire alarms and sprinkler systems – you might be able to get students discounts.

Considerations for student renters insurance

It is a truth universally acknowledged that student housing is often targeted by thieves and burglars, even though a thief is usually likely to steal anything he is still often attracted to money, credit cards, jewelry and high-end electronic things. You’d do better if you would lock these valuable things up and away and keep them out of sight, so you won’t make it too easy for a thief to find and steal your stuff. In addition it is recommended to inform your insurance company of owning things worth more than a specified value because some policies will require you to itemize these high value items. Still, if you own anything that is not required to be itemized, for example a very expensive musical instrument or laptop it is considered to record the value, make and model along with its serial number. Finally, you should consider adding identity theft insurance to your student renter’s policy. In addition to the risk of having a credit card, bank statement or passport stolen - all of which are often used to ‘clone’ identities - as a college student, you’ll inevitably leave plenty of personal data online. Having your identity stolen can lead to a variety of credit and personal problems for many years, so having adequate insurance to cover identity theft is becoming increasingly important.

As a college student, purchasing a home insurance policy, like renters insurance, is essential if you want to ensure that you can recoup the costs of replacing your property and possessions if they are lost, stolen or damaged. Looking on the internet for insurance companies means making sure that these companies provide specializes in renter’s insurance policies for college students