<p>Before we bought our home, we had renters' insurance. We now own our own home, and have homeowner's insurance, but wonder if there is any sort of "renter's" type insurance for son's dorm contents.</p>
<p>Back when we were in school, you just had clothes, sheets and towels.</p>
<p>Nowadays, with these fancy new apartment style dorms, you have kitchen appliances, TVs, and of course, laptops.</p>
<p>How do parents handle "insuring" their child's dorm contents while they are away at college?</p>
<p>Our homeowners will cover our college kids as long as they are living in campus housing. Our insurance agent just asks for some details on computers, ipods, etc. Once they move off campus then we had to buy renters insurance.</p>
<p>I’m afraid my DH would rather my son’s stuff get thrown in the fire anyway. My son, however, would go back into a burning building to get his computer.</p>
<p>No, we did not purchase any form of property insurance, but my DH always makes a point to purchase big ticket items, like a computer, with a credit card. These days, those credit cards include some form of insurance automatically.</p>
<p>A company called NSSI provides dorm type insurance… also covers all electronics like ipods laptops and cell phones… you can find them at nssi.com. You purchase a $ level of insurance and then there is a 25 dollar deductable. Provides coverage without the risk of raising your homeowners premiums.</p>
<p>I checked with our homeowner’s insurance co. and they told me that while living in the dorm his belongings were covered under our homeowner’s plan - including his computer. So we did not purchase any additional coverage. </p>
<p>But now that he is renting an off campus apartment, we did purchase renter’s insurance for him.</p>
<p>So, we should send an inventory of his possessions, ie, laptop, ipod, iphone, to our homeowners to make sure they’ll cover it?</p>
<p>I will call the agent next week. Thanks for the info.</p>
<p>Son will be in on campus housing. Makes sense, though, if moves into own apartment off campus, will have to get him renter’s insurance.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies, guys.</p>
<p>we rented a safe at the school</p>
<p>There are several companies that offer student property insurance. I was going to just put a rider on our homeowners last year but found that it was a bit cheaper to get a separate policy from NSSI, who also offered a lower deductible, and I felt it would be better not to risk our homeowner’s rates for any potential claims D would make. NSSI covered accidental damage in addition to the standard theft, fire, vandalism, etc. </p>
<p>Looks like NSSI’s replacement cost coverage ranges from $65/year for $2K/$100 deductible to $240/year for $10K/$25 deductible…just got the renewal bill in the mail and it appears you can adjust the coverage annually. It covers computers/electronics, books, clothes/jewelry, furniture/housewares, cameras, bikes, and sports/music equipment both on and off-campus.</p>
<p>[Affordable</a> Laptop Insurance, College Student Insurance, Personal Property, & Laptop Theft | National Student Sevices](<a href=“http://www.nssi.com%5DAffordable”>http://www.nssi.com)</p>
<p>We used College Student Insurance (CSI). It’s inexpensive and covered things that our homeowners insurance wouldn’t. My daughter put her laptop in her suitcase while traveling. Something got put on top of the suitcase and the laptop screen broke. Homeowners doesn’t cover that kind of accidental breakage, but CSI did. It paid more than $600 to fix the machine!</p>
<p>It also covers things like coffee (or beer) in the keyboard, a popular pastime in many college dorms.</p>
<p>Here is a link to another company that I have seen mentioned on cc:</p>
<p>[CSI</a> College Student Insurance Home](<a href=“http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/]CSI”>http://www.collegestudentinsurance.com/)</p>
<p>Cross posted with Chedva.</p>
<p>you can also just buy a separate rider policy from your homeowners. our sons stuff would be covered under our home owners policy BUT we have a very high deductible so that doesnt work. i think we paid about 49 to cover his computer, musical instruments etc for a year, with a 50 dollar deductible…</p>
<p>Our homeowner’s policy covers fire, theft, etc. subject to a $500 deductible (as well as ‘black mark’ against our policy). I sent a link to CSI to our agent and had her look at it. She said they couldn’t come close to matching that price with a rider and suggested we purchase that. I got a $4,000 policy with a $25 deductible for less than $100 a year. The nice thing is they will cover damage - like dropping the laptop or ipod - so I thought it was worth it. I can’t tell you how many ipods we have replaced over the years.</p>
<p>I bought dorm insurance through one of these companies last year - best thing I ever did. Son’s ipod and RayBans were stolen. All he had to do was file an official report with security and I provided a receipt and/or photo of him with the RayBans and I received a check in the mail for $400.00 to replace the stuff. The insurance cost about $125 for $5000 work of protection, and I think I paid a little more so I wouldn’t have a deductible. House insurance has a $1,000 deductible - so it worked out great for me. They will even cover him now that he has moved into a rental house. I will also get the insurance for my daughter this year. With the ipods, computers, tvs, etc. it is well worth it. I didn’t have any trouble getting the insurance payment either.</p>
<p>We have used CSI, son had his bike stolen and they sent us a check as soon as I sent a copy of the police report. No problem.</p>
<p>Just called my homeowners, and as long as son lives in on campus housing, he’s covered up to 10K. If he rents an apartment off campus, he’ll have to purchase renters’ insurance.</p>
<p>I bought a policy through NSSI because my daughter’s school sent a flier from this company so I figured they have a good number of policy holders at that school and have served them well in the past. I am sure the other companies are very good to. </p>
<p>Also, the cost of these student policies with accidental coverage for laptops is better than the extended warranties and accidental coverages for laptops through the laptop manufacturer. With these policies you can cover all of the kid’s stuff; not just the laptop.</p>
<p>CSI all the way! They paid over $1000 for accidental damage to my son’s laptop last year. Even if his stuff was covered by our homeowner’s insurance I’d still get a stand-alone policy because 1) I’m not sure it covers accidental damage like laptop spills 2) we have a high deductible so wouldn’t get much back after deductible and 3) I’d be hesitant to file a claim for a small amount because rates on my insurance might rise as a result. In addition, the folks at CSI were incredibly helpful and payment was prompt.</p>
<p>We just met with our insurance agent to go over all our coverage, home, auto, life, etc. He suggested CSI for exactly the reasons MomOf3 suggests. Most homeowners won’t cover accidental damage to a computer, the high deductible won’t cover a stolen bike or backpack with a camera (two of the most common thefts on campus), and that small a claim can raise your overall homerowners premium. </p>
<p>He was really impressed when I told him I already had CSI on both boys. Thanks CC!!</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, guys. I will talk to my husband and son about getting one of these policies, for the laptop in particular. That accidental damage coverage would certainly be worth it.</p>
<p>I highly recommend purchasing dorm insurance through NSSI. It’s inexpensive, has a $25 deductible and covers accidental damage too. My daughter had a drop and water spill on her Macbook last year. NSSI handled the claim quickly and paid for $1000+ repair. All my daughter had to do was provide a purchase receipt, an estimate for the repairs, and fill out a few forms. She had a check within 15 days. </p>
<p>These policies cover everything a student can possibly bring to school and coverage isn’t limited to dorms - it covers their stuff worldwide. Given the expensive equipment they take to school, it’s a bargain. Better to keep it off your homeowners too. </p>
<p>We just submitted a claim for a bicycle stolen the last week of school and I anticipate that will be handled as quickly as the computer claim was. </p>
<p>You can apply on line with a few clicks. Highly satisfied!</p>