Oh, parents of college kids, *hug!* If you’ve just sent the first of your children to college, as a fellow parent, I feel you. *Passing over the tissues.* Many of the Vibrant team are also parents who can empathize with the emotional rollercoaster of a bird flying the nest — you’re proud, sad, excited, worried and maybe just a little bit envious of the freedom, lifelong memories and new friendships they are about to experience.
Among all these emotions, there’s also the concerning reality that your child may be living on their own for the first time. Are you fighting the urge to send them off in protective bubble wrap?
You also know it’s time to live and learn. This means planning their own schedules, finding their own way to classes and keeping track of their own things. For that reason, I’m here today to answer some of your questions about how to make sure their “stuff”, or as they’ll learn to call it — property — is well protected.
1. As a parent of a kid living at college, what will my Personal Liability insurance cover?
Personal Liability covers property damage to others’ property and property-related injuries when the policy owner, their spouse and/or resident relatives (like children) are considered negligent. If your child is still considered a dependent, and is enrolled full-time in college, the Personal Liability coverage through your Homeowner’s insurance policy will extend coverage to them. If you have an Umbrella policy for additional liability coverage, it will extend to them as well.
2. Will my Homeowner’s insurance protect my child’s property at college?
Depends. Your Homeowner’s policy generally extends to cover up to 10% of your personal property stored at an off-site location, like a storage facility (be sure to check the details of how much is covered in your policy). Lucky for you and your student, this means the policy will likely protect items a child hauls to a college dorm room, because let’s be honest, the rooms are barely bigger than a match box. Not a whole lot fits in there.
The typical Homeowner’s extension coverage is often ample for the property that would need to be replaced in case of dorm-room theft or storm damage; however, I always advise that you check with your insurance representative to confirm.
There is one item I often recommend for special consideration — laptop computers. If your student was lucky enough to head off with a shiny new Mac, for instance, there’s increased risk for this valuable portable item to be stolen, damaged or forgotten at one of many classrooms or study areas visited throughout a typical college student’s day. That could be an expensive “whoops.”
While a laptop is considered personal property, and would likely be covered in your Homeowner’s policy (sometimes there are exceptions for vague “mysterious disappearances” outlined in some policies), it will also have a deductible applied for replacement. With the average Homeowner’s deductibles now exceeding $1,000, it might make more financial sense to have the laptop scheduled on your policy. When it’s scheduled, the covered causes for loss increase and the deductible is waived.
3. When should a college student get Renter’s insurance?
If your Homeowner’s policy extension isn’t sufficient to cover the amount of dorm room property your child has, a separate Renter’s insurance policy may be worth consideration. In addition, if your child is renting an apartment, house or any other property off campus, they will also need Renter’s insurance.
Renter’s insurance consists of three types of coverage: personal belongings, liability for damage or injury caused by negligence, and temporary housing if there is major damage to the existing rental. You or your student will want to check into the appropriate amount of coverage that makes sense for their individual situation.
Some properties, especially in student-specific housing, will require proof of Renter’s insurance for every signed lease, or they will charge a fee as part of rental costs to cover the insurance. I’d recommend talking to your insurance advisor to discuss the benefits of you or your child choosing their own insurance provider before defaulting to the property-provided option. When supplying your own, be sure to check on the specific coverage details the property owner requires in the lease.
4. If my child rents an apartment with other roommates on the lease, what kind of insurance or coverage do they need?
Your child may decide at some point to live in a rented property with a roommate or ten, which can be beneficial for decreasing everyone’s individual rental costs while increasing their amount of fun. Regardless of whether each roommate has signed the lease or not, they will each need their own Renter’s insurance policy. A roommate’s policy will not cover your child’s belongings and vice versa. You will also want to ensure they have some liability coverage in case your child causes property damage or someone gets hurt while visiting your child’s place.
5. Do I need to change anything with my child’s car insurance policy if they take it to college, if they don’t take it or if college is out of state?
Your child will need to remain on your Auto policy, even if they don’t take a car to school. That being said, some carriers will offer discounts for students living more than 100 miles away (check for specifics) at school and don’t take the car with them.
If your child goes to an out-of-state college, and is hoping to gain residency in that state to qualify for in-state tuition, check to see whether a car they take will also need to be registered in that state as proof of residency. If so, you may not be able to keep them on your Auto policy. You may want to consider keeping the car at home and/or having the car registered under a parent’s name. Again, I’d recommend asking your insurance advisor for specifics on all of this before making any major decisions.
Have a super smart kid? *High five!* Check into any “Good Student” insurance discounts. To qualify, students must maintain a certain grade point average. Once carriers verify via school transcripts, a discount is applied to the student’s insurance premium. Great grades can pay off — literally!
Other college kid insurance considerations:
- Property Values – Just as homeowners can benefit from taking a home inventory (we provide a handy guide to creating home inventories here), request that your child take careful inventory of their valuable items at school. If there is major damage or theft, it will be much faster and efficient to process a claim and receive accurate reimbursement if they’ve already documented items of value and the details carriers will require to process a claim.
- Location of College – Check to make sure the location of the college doesn’t affect any coverage, particularly Auto insurance.
- Discounts – Check into all coverage as far as term lengths. If your child comes home for the summer, takes a semester off or any other situation where they may not need the coverage beyond a certain time period, you may be able to adjust the term length of coverage.
We’ll protect their property, so you can focus on counting down the days until your next visit.
It was just yesterday that your student was losing her first baby tooth, and now she’s living on her own and may or may not know how to hand-address a letter home (true story, thanks to technology). Rest assured, she’ll figure it out.
In the meantime, we’re here to ensure that you can focus on supporting your college student’s dreams while we take care of protecting their assets. Give us a call – we can get you set up, or review the coverage you already have, to help ease your mind. The bubble wrap, on the other hand, is all you.
