<p>"College kids may be young and fearless, but that doesn't mean they're immune to illness, theft or even lawsuits. To be sure, student insurance coverage is as important a decision to make as course curriculum and perhaps a monthly allowance. But what types of insurance do your children need? ..."</p>
<p>College</a> Must-have: Student Insurance | Bankrate.com</p>
<p>S is in the dorm and covered under our homeowners, but we had to add a rider for his laptop. Good idea to check with your insurer regarding what is and isn’t already covered.</p>
<p>I’m surprised that the article didn’t mention property insurance aimed specifically at college students. Based on recommendations here on CC, we bought D1 a college student propery policy. The problem with relying on parental property insurance is that making a claim can lead to higher insurance rates in the future. That’s why homeowners generally don’t make small claims, keeping insurance for the big stuff. A stolen laptop or North Face jacket isn’t going to be worth the risk of higher rates on a big homeowner policy. </p>
<p>Numerous long-time posters here on CC have vouched for companies like CSI. It seems pretty straightforward to get payment when there’s been a theft (even from a dorm laundry room) or an accident (a roommate spills a drink on a laptop).</p>
<p>Let me add my personal experience with CSI (I’ve posted about this before). Freshman year S2’s 6-mo old laptop #1 was destroyed in an accident over New Year’s Eve. It was NOT insured, Applecare did not cover the damage & we had to purchase a new laptop. We also purchased a CSI policy. 3 weeks later, someone stepped on laptop #2 & cracked the screen. Repairs cost $700 & were covered by CSI. </p>
<p>This (sophomore) year a pipe in the bathroom over S2’s dorm room burst & his room was flooded. Fortunately laptop #2 and his stereo were not damaged but other students in the dorm lost TVs & expensive electronics. We did not need to file any claims but they would have been covered by our dorm insurance policy.</p>
<p>I write this to show that bad stuff can & DOES happen - especially to my S2 :eek: - and having a property insurance policy, whether CSI or another company, is invaluable. Our homeowner’s premiums would be astronomical, or our policy would have been dropped altogether, had we filed these claims against homeowner’s insurance.</p>
<p>My DS was the kid mentioned above who had over $1,000 worth of designer clothes stolen from the laundry last year. We bought the CSI policy primarily to protect his new laptop. I never really thought about someone stealing his clothes, but with the claim payment, he was able to replace his wardrobe. </p>
<p>When I told my insurance agent about CSI and NSSI (the other major student property insurer) and asked what she could provide, she recommended going with one of these companies. The breadth of coverage (accidental damage, liquids, theft, etc.) is far broader than most homeowner’s policies and the $25 to $50 deductible a fraction of most homeowner’s policy deductibles ($1,000+). She noted that if you use your homeowner’s policy (including scheduling a laptop), any claims count against the parents policy. Many companies will drop you after a couple of claims, so its not worth using a “chit” for a laptop - save it for hail damage etc.</p>