<p>We bought the NSSI student property insurance for S2 at the beginning of his freshman year. It covers loss from theft or accidental damage for computers, phones, electronics, etc. Since S2 is a film production major, he had some expensive equipment he was bringing with him. This year the premium is $93/year for $3,000 worth of replacement cost coverage. In the past 2 years, S2 has filed claims on a stolen camera, stolen ipod, and laptop on which he spilled a drink. He had to submit police reports for the stolen items and to send in the broken laptop when he filed the claims. They have been really great to work with and I recommend this coverage if your child is taking expensive electronics to school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the information - anyone else have insurance suggestions? I was wondering if this could be added on to parents home policy but the accidental damage coverage from this company is very appealing…</p>
<p>You can add them to your homeowner’s, but then you have to meet that deductible. Also, any claims would stay on your homeowner policy record and likely increase your premiums.</p>
<p>Do not claim on your homeowners if you can avoid it. You’ll be rated negatively for at least 3 years, no matter the type or size of claim, and this will affect your premium and may even hinder your ability to get coverage. There are a bunch of threads that discuss the various student insurance companies. I’ve also used NSSI but other have had good experiences elsewhere.</p>
<p>This is another company that has been posted about many times on cc:</p>
<p>[CSI</a> College Student Insurance Home](<a href=“http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/]CSI”>http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/)</p>
<p>We have CSI for my son’s stuff. He had to file a claim the first year after he spilled a drink on his laptop. It took a little time to get the payment, but not too bad. We re-insured him with the same company for the subsequent year and probably will again next year.</p>
<p>My daughter has an expensive musical instrument. I thought the CSI premium was a bit too high in her case, so we’ll just claim it under our homeowners insurance in case of a loss with it. I called them to understand what coverage we have there in this kind of situation. She’s much more responsible and careful with her stuff than my son, though.</p>
<p>You should check with the carrier of your homeowner’s policy for comparison. You will want to ask about a personal articles policy. I have one for valuables, including computers and there is no deductible and making a claim has no impact on the homeowner’s policy. The premium is very reasonable.</p>
<p>Remember, despite these stories, insurance companies make a ton of money from selling student insurance policies.</p>
<p>A more financially sound strategy would to take good care of your items and put the money spent on insurance in the bank instead.</p>
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<p>In other words, over a 5 year period, you will give an insurance company $500 so they can send you a $3000 (maximum) check if theft/damage occurs.</p>
<p>We have also used CSI for three years now, paying around $90 per year for coverage. My D had claims the first two years and CSI paid out about $1400 in all with absolutely no hassles. My D handled the claims herself and they were paid quite promptly. For us, buying the insurance was a great decision.</p>
<p>One other thing–some credit card companies have insurance for purchases within 90 days or something (i.e. if you purchased the item in question about 90 days prior on the card & ANYTHING happens to the item, they will repair/replace at no charge, no questions asked). Once you’re beyond the 90 days, you’re on your own. This has helped us a few times, glasses that were swept away by the sea, etc.</p>
<p>We have not purchased any property insurance for either of our kids so far, nor tuition insurance because we prefer to deal with the issues ourselves. So far, our S had a wallet & cell phone stolen when he left it on a bench in the school gym & went to the bathroom (end of sophomore year). He has learned & never done that again. He used two broken phones to make himself a new phone just like the stolen one; lesson learned.</p>
<p>Some insurers give a slight premium discount if you don’t make claims on your HO policy, so the small claim on your kids’ stuff might bump up your premium, which is another factor in favor of having the kid get an independent policy.</p>
<p>Slightly off topic but related about credit card company free offers:
Our credit card also offers a free extended warranty for their laptops, both of which died. S’s died 2.5 years after he got it–free full refund, including shipping & evaluation charges. D’s died just over a year after she got it. She also got a full refund, including all shipping paid by the extended warranty program of the credit card company. We never have to purchase extended warranties when the credit card company gives them for free. We use the AmEx Costco card & have been very pleased with the service, which is better than that of the computer manufacturer.</p>
<p>S had a problem with his netbook and since it was still on original warranty HP repaired it & sent it back to his old apartment. Hopefullly it now works. If not, he will go into the free extended warranty (it was purchased on an AmEx credit card).</p>
<p>Some of the credit card companies also offer free car rental CDW and travel insurance (check before you buy additional insurance). It has saved us a LOT of $$$$.</p>
<p>We were offered tuition refund insurance from their private HS as well as their college. IF we had purchased the insurance, it would have really added up over the years they were in HS & also the years they are in college. I know some folks have found it a great thing but for us, things have worked out. It’s always weighing the risks vs. benefits, which risks to self-insure & which to purchase protection for. It’s important to read the terms of the policy & determine whether it provides the protection you want for the price you want. The policies I’m familiar with would require the kid to completely withdraw from school before the policy would pay anything. This has never happened to us for either kid, sick as they were sometimes, they were able to get incompletes or somehow get thru school.</p>
<p>We have NSSI. We had to make a claim. It was easy and they paid with submission of receipts and a police report. I have it now for both D’s. It is not expensive and the piece of mind is great. Not to mention it has paid for itself already in the first year…</p>
<p>We used CSI for three years with no claims. Then D2 spillled water on her laptop. They made her produce original receipt, notice from campus computer center that laptop was non-functional due to liquids, etc. She got a check for original purchase price. Bought a newer, faster machine. Only loss was the stuff she hadn’t backed up, plus the $50 deductable.
It was well worth the premiums since we go with a $5000 deductable on our homeowner’s insurance.</p>
<p>A reminder - there is no deductible on many personal articles policies so the deductible on your homeowner’s policy is irrelevant.</p>
<p>I can’t say enough good things about CSI. We paid $126 for $5,000 of coverage with a $50 deductible. In one year we submitted claims for a laptop power cord that she ran over with her desk chair a few too many times, and two broken iTouches. I was skeptical that they would cover our claims since we didn’t have receipts, but it was easy and quick and completely fair.</p>
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<p>This confuses me. Do you mean that if I spill water on my laptop at home State Farm will come in and pay $1500?</p>
<p>If you have a personal articles policy through them, they will. It is a separate policy from the homeowner’s policy but most companies won’t write it unless you have a homeowner’s policy through them.</p>
<p>So this is an additional cost on top of my homeowners insurance?</p>
<p>Yes, but it is very reasonable and is based on how much you have insured.</p>
<p>Insured D for two years through CSI. She made a claim the first year for a phone that had gotten wet in a storm and no longer worked and the second year for a pair of expensive running shoes that were ruined in a small dorm fire.</p>
<p>CSI just sent her a notice that they will not renew her next year. They paid about $400 total for these two claims.</p>
<p>Had I known they would have cancelled, I would not made the claims!</p>
<p>I had used CSI for two years with 1 claim of a stolen iphone in 2011 and 3 claims 2013. I drop my Camera and lens in one claim. I needed proof of purchase, pictures and repair estimate, CSI refunded me. Then i drop my iphone 4 beginning of this year and the glass shattered. I needed to go to the apple store. They replace my iphone for $162. Then i just drop my Zoom recorder at an event, to get it replace was $161. CSI paid and approve all claims, but now they are kicking me out and i can’t renew my policy. </p>