Does homeowners cover your college students belongings?

Did you know? The average college student moves into their dorm with roughly $10,000 in belongings.

It’s time for the parents of college bound students to start feeling the pain of separation. As August winds down cars filled to the brim with laptop, tablets, printers, and beanbag chairs are headed down the highway towards campus.

It seems like college students have more and more stuff to haul with them every year. According to statistics from Frontline insurance, the average college student moves into their dorm with roughly $10,000 in belongings. Those belongings can be in danger, every year an estimated 40,000 incidents of theft occur on on college campuses.

Is Your Student Protected?

The big question is, are your student’s possessions protected while they are out of your home and at the dorm.

The good news is that yes, in most cases your homeowners insurance policy will protect them as long as your child is still considered a member of your household and they are living on campus.

While, your student’s belongings will usually be protected, most experts recommend calling your agent or insurance company to ensure coverage. In most cases, your agent will ask a few questions in order to determine if your student’s possessions will be covered. Expect these questions:

• Are you paying the tuition for your child?
• Are you responsible for their health insurance?
• Do you claim your student as a dependent on your tax return?
• Will your student come back home for summer and Christmas break?

If you answered yes to these questions, coverage should be extended but there is still one more query that could cause a problem.

Finally, the big question, do they live on campus?

Off Campus Housing is Different

If your student has outgrown the dorms and is living off campus in an apartment or house, it is probably time for Junior to get their own policy. In most cases, your homeowner policy will not cover losses at your student’s apartment.

Once Junior is out on their own, renters insurance is probably the best option. Renter’s coverage is very affordable, running between $150-$200 a year and will not only cover property losses but also extends liability protection to them as well.

A Few More Tips

If Junior is staying on your policy, remember that some homeowners policies carry limits on high-ticket items. While mainly limited to art, jewelry and other collectibles, in some cases it can also extend to electronics, or even bicycles. Check with your agent in regards to coverage limits. If more protection is needed, extending those limits with a rider is usually pretty affordable.

While you are taking some goodbye photos of your student, be sure to get some snaps of your student’s property and jot down the serial numbers of any of the expensive electronics. A proper dorm inventory will make the claims process much easier if any of Junior’s stuff goes missing.

There are a number of home inventory apps available that can make this process much easier. They allow you to take photo’s of your (or your student’s) property and enter key information like the serial number, where you purchased it and the date it was purchased.

Now that you have done all you can do to protect your student’s property its time to snap a few photos of Junior and their new roommate, hand out some big hugs and head back home.

Easily save time and money now by shopping your home insurance with HomeInsuranceKing.com. Ask about our insurance packages that helps you bundle your policies. We can help you save more on your home insurance policy and provide discounted renters insurance rates for your loved ones that are moving away to attend college this fall.