It’s a bittersweet moment for many parents when their child heads off to college or university in another city. You hope they’ll find the skills to become responsible and capable adults, but deep down they’re still your child. As a parent, you can continue to keep them safe with student car insurance and contents insurance while they’re studying.
Is renter’s insurance really necessary?
Students today have a lot of expensive gear that they will be taking with them when they go to college or university. Phones, tablets, laptops, gaming systems It’s a lot of stuff. These are expensive items, and thieves love them.
Young adults leaving home for the first time can become easy marks, even if one roommate is lax with home security (on or off campus). Student housing can be a revolving door of visitors, and parties and it provides the perfect opportunity for thieves to help themselves to new electronics.
Given how affordable contents insurance is for renters, it just makes a lot of sense to insure their stuff at one of their most vulnerable phases in life.
Your homeowner’s policy might cover your child already
In many cases, your insurance policy will cover some (if not all) of the protection against theft, but there’s another issue that you should also be concerned about: liability for damage to the home or residence.
Yes, there are probably going to be parties, and no matter how responsible your child is, he or she can’t control what everyone else does. If someone is injured at the residence or house and you don’t have liability insurance, you could be in for an expensive experience.
Insurance companies would rather cover students living in residence or single-occupancy dwellings. Once there are a group of students cohabiting without supervision, the risk levels rise. In many cases, your homeowner’s insurance can be extended to cover your child. If it doesn’t, your outlay will still cost less than the amount you’ll pay to replace stolen contents or pay for expensive damages.
Read the residence agreement
Universities and colleges are savvy landlords. They’ve been dealing with students for a lot longer than you’ve been a parent, and they know what to expect. Most college and universities will clearly state in the residency agreement that they are not liable for theft of student property.
Read the agreement carefully and proceed accordingly. If your child is in a shared living arrangement, each member of the household will require their own policy. It’s best to let your insurance company know that it’s a shared living environment to avoid complications if you do make a claim. An important point for parents to remember is that if you’re extending your homeowners policy to cover your child, any claims they make will affect your policy and you may no longer be able to benefit from your no-claims discount.
We’re ready to answer all your questions at aha insurance. We understand that this is a big change and you will need smart advice. We want to help your family make this transition easy and that can be accomplished by ensuring your child has the right coverage while they are away studying.
