<p>I will be curious if they drop my D this year. In 2 yrs she has filed 3 claims.
The insurance is great. For stolen items you do need receipts and police report. </p>
<p>Homeowners insurers often drop people after 3 claims too. It usually isnât worth it to claim an item under $500 even if there is no deductible because of the number of claims issue.</p>
<p>We have usaa insurance. They offered some student coverage that covered a broken computer but the second time they were a little less forgiving, IIRC</p>
<p>here is a similar thread I opened to recount our familyâs great experiences with CSI. This thread was moved to the cafe. D1 is going to grad school and would still be eligible for CSI (as well as NSSI I believe) so we will continue her coverage. <a href=âexperiences with two CSI claims - Parent Cafe - College Confidential Forumsâ>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1528942-experiences-with-two-csi-claims.html</a></p>
<p>I have a experience to share. My son got an iPad from high school and was told the camera is broken after schoolâs technician check the iPad. Which is what they do every year during Summer time. The cost to replace the camera is $140. He hardly used the camera.</p>
<p>We file a claim to NSSI (National Student Services, Inc.). Surprisingly the claim is denied by the reason of âmechanical breakdownâ. Called and given a reason that they need an incident and a date for this.</p>
<p>My wife file the claim originally, and my son answer the question of incident date. Naively, he says it just happened and did not know when. He took really good care of his iPad and very surprised of this. And shocking to is that they simply denied it with a reason of âMechanical breakdownâ. </p>
<p>I will notify school and PTA regarding this experience. As well as BBB for NSSI claims they are accredited.</p>
<p>Hopefully this information is helpful to everyone to make your decision in selecting insurance company or even the insurance itself. We pay $50 for one year coverage and now knowing it wonât cover everything happened to it.</p>
<p>Here is the claim number to prove this is truthful event. </p>
<p>NSSI claim # 2013 0008 3647 </p>
<p>@dragonmomâ - we also have State Farm, though there may be coverage differences from state to state. Our agent (in NH) said they donât cover cell phones at all and any laptops had a pretty hefty deductible, although a personal items policy wasnât mentioned. We covered my older son through CSI and will cover my younger son as well. I figure for $126 a year, itâs worth it. </p>
<p>You want to ask your insurer about a personal articles policy. It is separate from the homeownerâs policy. Iâm sure insurers vary, but my State Farm policy had no deductible and was cheap. </p>
<p>thanks, Cartera45 - Iâm going to call our agent again. Our agent isnât very good and I think we need to change but thatâs another story!</p>
<p>Iâve never had a claim, but have purchased CSI for 2 years, and will be doubling up for 2 kids this year. </p>
<p>fyi, CSI has changed names, the new company is Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.</p>
<p>Anything else different about CSI? </p>
<p>If youâre primarily worried about a laptop, you can use Square Trade.</p>
<p>I can report that since being purchased by Arthur J. Gallagher, CSI still handles claims the same relatively hassle-free way. </p>
<p>A week ago, DD had her i-phone on the edge of the bathroom vanity. A message came in, the phone vibrated - you can guess what happenedâŠone busted phone. Filed an online claim that evening after going to the Apple store. Next morning she got an email with a list of items they needed. We faxed the Apple store report confirming the damage and the cost for the replacement phone, a copy of her report card and student ID to prove enrollment, a screen print from my AT&T bill to show ownership of the phone and the claim was approved. This claim was good for almost exactly two years premiums for $5,000 of coverage.</p>
<p>When deciding whether or not you want this coverage, a few things to remember:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Yes, most homeowners policies will cover your students property away from home (subject to a limit) - the limit is typcially 10% of the property limit for your home, so this should cover almost all students needs. HOWEVER-</p></li>
<li><p>Your regular homeowners deductible will apply. Deductibles are often $1,000 or more thereby negating most of any benefit for a student-type claim.</p></li>
<li><p>Any claims on behalf of your student, will count as a claim against the parents insurance policy with most companies. This can cause the parents insurance policy to be at risk - a couple of claims of any size within a few years causes many insurance companies to non-renew the policy. If this happens, the cost of the parents insurance tends to skyrocket.</p></li>
<li><p>Yes, you can buy a personal articles policy or rider. Many companies make these available. These policies can have much smaller deductibles 0 - $100. HOWEVER-</p></li>
<li><p>You need to confirm with the company you choose, whether accidental damage is covered. Iâve heard of some riders that do cover this and others that donât. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples Also make sure coverage is at replacement cost, not actual cash value (depreciated cost).</p></li>
<li><p>You need to confirm what is covered. Iâve seen some companies willing to write a rider - but then, they will only write for computers or laptops, then that is the only property covered. It doesnât cover the i-phone, the HDTV, the clothes, the bike etc⊠The advantage of the CSI/NSSI type of policy is you buy an amount of coverage, but you donât have to list individual assets. The $5,000 (or what ever limit you buy) can be used for the laptop, TV etc.</p></li>
<li><p>If you go with a rider or personal articles policy, you must confirm with your agent whether a claim will impact either the renewal or rates of your underlying homeowners policy. Each insurance company is free, within the limits of state law, to set their own policy in this regard. What applies in one state, may not apply in another.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Insurance always brings out divergent opinions on CC. Some people seem to buy every policy known to man, others refuse to even buy state-mandated minimum auto insurance, while the vast majority are somewhere in between. Whatâs different from when we were in school, is the price and number of expensive items many kids take to college: laptops, i-phones, HDTVâs, designer clothes etc. I look at it like this: while I can go to the bank and withdraw $5,000 without a second thought, I would rather not. Iâd rather pay the $136 for a years coverage and then my kids can pay the $25 deductible if misfortune or carelessness causes a loss to their expensive items. For us, we came out so far ahead on my sonâs one claim, the savings more than pays for 4 years coverage for both him and his sister. YMMV</p>
<p>I agree that you want a separate personal articles policy, not a rider that is affiliated with the homeownerâs policy. </p>
<p>In response to post #24 , it is important to remember that CSI and NSSI are insurance policies, not maintenance plans or extended warranties! </p>
<p>Insurance operates on an incident or occurance basis. If your kid drops the i-pad and either the camera or device breaks or gets wet and is ruined, itâs covered. If it is stolen from the library when your kid steps away for a moment- its covered. If the camera just stops working - that is a warranty issue for Apple, if the device is still under warranty. </p>
<p>These are great policies and they offer broad coverage against theft or accidental damage incidents - not for âit just stopped workingâ.</p>
<p>Its also important to remember they will not cover âmisplacedâ or âlostâ items - a police report is needed if an item has gone missing. </p>
<p>With regards to being cancelled post #19 - I have seen here on CC that people cancelled by one of the companies (CSI or NSSI) have then gone and obtained the next years policy from the other company. Yes three claims will get you non-renewed anywhere. All the more reason why you definitely donât want to implicate your homeowners policy with student-type claims. </p>
<p>Someone won a Nobel prize for pointing out that people are often irrationally risk averse. I get that a college musician may have a very valuable instrument at school. I understand that a graphic designer may have more expensive camera and computer equipment than the average bear. But why are the rest of us sending kids to college with stuff thatâs so valuable that youâd risk getting your homeownerâs cancelled if the stuff gets stolen?</p>
<p>I am mystified. Read the college newspaper of any large university and look at the police blotter. Kids leave the doors to their dorms propped open. Kids go to the bathroom at the library and leave their backpacks with wallets unattended (with $300 in cash inside the wallet). Kids donât chain their bikes outside Starbucks.</p>
<p>If your kid is careless, something will get destroyed or stolen over the four years. Donât send your kid to college with anything you cannot afford to replace, and leave your homeownerâs intact for what you need it for- a catastrophic loss of your largest asset. Your kid doesnât need a thousand dollar camera to take pictures of her drunken sorority sisters.</p>
<p>A neighbor of mine just had their homeownerâs cancelled and her new policy is not pretty. Youâre going to make your kid pay the upcharge on your premiums? of course not. But do you want to be living with an increase in your homeowners rates for the next ten years over a stolen cell phone???</p>
<p>DS just received his dump letter from CSI for two claims in one year. I am unsure if he will ever see payment for the second claim despite agreeing to terms of settlement⊠The dump letter has arrived before the check AND he has been sitting here with a dead laptop waiting for a month because he needs the $ to fix it. First claim was for cracked phone screen, second was liquid damage to laptop. Had I known, I would not have advised him to claim the cracked cell screen. One can only be so careful when your living with other people. DS is a ridiculously careful person. His roommate, whom he was assigned, not so much. </p>
<p>The builder who built our house did a lousy job on the plumbing. Our friends up the street found out the hard way after a $30k water damage claim. COUNTLESS neighbors have had the same issue. We were fortunate enough to not have a leak and fixed the problem. Our friendâs however, only fixed one spot, on the advice of the ins company authorized repair company who didnât realize it was a whole house issue. They had a second leak which caused another $20k in damage. They were dumped by their ins. by no fault of their own. </p>
<p>You have ins because you donât have a crystal ball. I have to say, at the moment, I would not recommend CSI. </p>
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<p>Blossom, no one is recommending that people take out policies connected to their homeownerâs policy. I think everyone agrees that is a bad idea. A separate personal articles policy is the way to go. </p>