<p>I’ve found this discussion very interesting. Next year my daughter will be a freshman. Can someone give me an idea of how much dorm insurance costs? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>DebmomNY, the sites make it very easy to get a quote. It mostly depends on the school. I think we pay a little over $100 a year for $5k of coverage.</p>
<p>As you buy things for college–including any clothing items!-- save the receipts. It’ll help if you ever need to document a claim. I still have the receipt for D1’s North Face Denali fleece, which could easily disappear in a pile of similar jackets at a party. :)</p>
<p>Thanks, ST, I’ll keep it in mind</p>
<p>Wow~ Great advice. Hadn’t even considered there was such a thing as dorm insurance. Will look into before our one and only child starts college in the fall and will DEFINITELY start keeping records/receipts of purchases in one place. Thanks for the heads up! I can’t believe all of the tidbits of wisdom I’ve learned at CC.</p>
<p>I purchased dorm insurance for both of my kids - they never needed it, but the low cost of the policy was worth it.</p>
<p>I work at an art school that is housed in historic buildings … which have historic-building problems (leaks, electrical surges) … and, while located in an extremely safe suburban environment, exists in the real world (and is therefore not immune from theft). I really push student insurance, and our students do purchase these inexpensive policies — I think it is absolutely money well spent.</p>
<p>Debmom, I just checked and our premium for one year was $151 with replacement cost coverage and a $25 deductible.</p>
<p>With NSSI there are no geographic restrictions at all. If fact it even covered the student while studying abroad. The policy we had also covered damage, which a dorm security card won’t help you with.</p>
<p>The cost of the policy, the very low deductible and the fact that a claim doesn’t count against your homeowners policy made it a no brainer for us. We have had a few occasions to make a claim and never had any problems collecting.</p>
<p>Thanks, I have it on my list-- sounds like it’s worthwhile!</p>
<p>Things happen in college, like this:</p>
<p>[Fire</a> burns OU sorority house in Norman | News OK](<a href=“http://newsok.com/fire-burns-ou-sorority-house-in-norman/article/3924005]Fire”>http://newsok.com/fire-burns-ou-sorority-house-in-norman/article/3924005)</p>
<p>60 girls are now without a home. Its always good to have insurance.</p>
<p>I don’t know that I’d bother covering clothes, as my son is a t-shirt and jeans kind of guy. We did, however, cover his rather swanky laptop and camera. Didn’t get dorm insurance, simply purchased a rider on our renters policy that costs us $30 per year with a $0 deductible.</p>
<p>The policy covers possessions in general, up to whatever total value you choose. So you’re not choosing specific categories such as electronics or clothing. In warm weather, a jeans and t-shirt type’s clothing isn’t going to be a big deal, but put that same kid in a snowy winter and it’s a different story. Outerwear can be expensive!</p>
<p>Never knew about dorm insurance. My daughter had quite a few things to go missing her freshman year. It was never a big ticket item, so I don’t know that it would have been used even if she had it. As soon as she got a new roommate nothing ever disappeared again. Go figure…</p>
<p>Our kids never purchased dorm insurance, nor did we ever make any claims for anything that was lost or stolen. Each lost/had stolen a nice cell phone, but fortunately we had a spare they could use until they were eligible for renewal. </p>
<p>For us and our kids, I figure we came out ahead by saving the money that we would have paid toward premiums and self-insuring. Our kids tend to be careful with their possessions. IF losing/breaking/having something valuable stolen would be a huge financial hardship, it is definitely worth considering how to have the item(s) covered by some insurance or another.</p>
<p>When each of their laptops broke, they were covered under my Costco AmEx extended warranty and got a full refund of the purchase price so they could buy a new device for themselves.</p>
<p>One warning about homeowner’s policies–some companies raise premiums on the policy IF any claims are made on them. Something to inquire about if your kid MAY make a claim.</p>
<p>Renters insurance is another option that is possible; so far we haven’t purchased this for our kids either and I don’t think S has purchased it for himself. We never did when we were renting–I rented for many years.</p>
<p>I always buy the CSI coverage for my kids with the $25 deductible. It’s about $87 each for ~3000 of coverage. Last year we used it to cover several hundred dollars worth of destruction done to my son’s possessions by his -roommate-. </p>
<p>Even if your child is very responsible, they can’t control what other people do. It was nice to be able to make a call, submit my receipts (I scanned and faxed them) and have a check within days. (I also sent email photos of the damaged items.)</p>
<p>I consider it a small payment for my peace of mind.</p>
<p>Wow–that must have been some room mate. Neither of my kids nor I gave had our room mates damage our stuff, particularly not several hundred dollars worth! Glad your insurer reimbursed you!</p>
<p>As always it is a cost benefit risk analysis. Do the projected premiums jive with or exceed the perceived benefits? Tuition insurance covers the much greater risk of your kid needing to withdraw from school for covered reasons and being able to get a refund on tuition – which can be tens of thousands for the term. It is often about $100 or so per term.</p>