<p>I just read on the OSU move-in site that renter’s insurance is recommended for students living in the dorms. Is this common for parents to get this for their kids?</p>
<p>I checked with my insurance agent and with my policy, my sons belongings at school are covered on my homeowners policy.</p>
<p>Yes, they are covered by your home owners insurance, but be aware that you are responsible for the deductible, which is probably more than any article that might be lost. Also, many insurance companies are becoming very strict with respect to claims against a policy, even a claim based on a student’s loss counts and that could mean increased premiums or in the case of multiple claims loss of insurance. Essentially filing a student claim is the last thing you want to do on a homeowners policy unless it is a catastrophic loss.</p>
<p>Many student policies are zero deductible and even cover loss of electronics do to accidental spills etc. Cost is on the order of $100/yr. depending on school and coverage. There are several threads discussing the different vendors and policies on CC.</p>
<p>Probably safest to have both, your homeowners liability will cover a student’s large losses or liabilities and additional student insurance will cover smaller losses. The decision has to be balanced based on what might be lost like a TV, laptop etc. and the likelihood of loss.</p>
<p>Do you have a link or name of a provider?</p>
<p>We have CSI, though thankfully we haven’t had to make a claim so I can’t tell you how well it works. Here is another thread on student insurance: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1530726-whats-best-insurance-college-student-living-dorm.html?highlight=csi+insurance[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parent-cafe/1530726-whats-best-insurance-college-student-living-dorm.html?highlight=csi+insurance</a></p>
<p>We had CSI and did make a claim during DS’s senior year when he left his backpack in a classroom and someone took it. Fortunately, his laptop wasn’t in it. However, the cost of the backpack, calculator, and misc items in the bag totalled nearly $200. CSI was great about getting the claim processed and paid in a timely way. If you are buying things for your kiddo now, I would make sure you keep receipts because that makes filing a claim so much easier. Also, I would advise also having some insurance or extended warranty on items like new laptops and smartphones. Over the course of 4 years, DS made two calls for computer repair under a three year warranty providing onsite repair for his laptop. It was great to get someone to come out and just fix the problem. Although he could get service at the Wired Out store on campus where he bought it, you need to leave the laptop with them until they diagnose the problem and then you have to wait for parts to be ordered which was too nconvenient. DS also damaged a smartphone but luckily had insurance on it also.</p>
<p>RMGsmom, just curious. CSI says they also cover damage to smartphones, laptops etc. Why do you have separate insurance on the phone ?</p>
<p>It’s just extra insurance that turned out to be useful. The laptop insurance ensured that even a small but annoying issue (keys that stick and scratchy sounding speakers) was repaired onsite without DS having to give up his laptop for more than a few minutes literally. Not sure how CSI would have handled it since it wasn’t due to accidental damage or theft. The smartphone developed black dots in the screen from being dropped in the snow once. I think that CSI would have paid for a new one so perhaps the extra insurance through the carrier wasn’t needed although they handled our claim expeditiously.</p>