Anytime you send a kid off to college, you will certainly have plenty to worry about. Don’t let insurance be one of those things!
I get this question often from parents as their kids are moving away and in transparency my answer has shifted in recent years. First, I want to answer a slightly different question… “does my child need Renters Insurance in their apartment?”
This one is an easy “yes”. If your kid moves out and gets an apartment with a full lease (typically12 months, but can be 6, 10, etc.), then they most definitely need Renters Insurance and you can see my other article regarding that topic here.
But back to the original question… what if they move into a dorm? This is where changes in the industry and society have changed my answer over the years. Historically, this would have been a “no”, but there have been two big shifts that have changed me to a “yes”.
1. Higher Deductibles – your child’s belongings are covered by your home insurance when at a dorm (with some limits), BUT if something happened to them, your deductible on your home insurance would apply. Chances are, if you add up everything your kid has in their dorm, it probably doesn’t exceed $5,000. Your deductible on your home may be that much, or more. If somebody steals your kid’s laptop, you’re not going to turn that in on a homeowners policy. It won’t meet the deductible and it will make your rate go up. But if you have an inexpensive Renters policy with a $250 deductible, now it makes sense to file that claim.
2. Older “Kids” Going to College – blame it on whoever you want, but “kids” these days are older than they used to be. When my grandparents were growing up, by the time you were 20 you were married, had kids, had already served your country overseas and now had a full-time job. With Gen Z and the invention of things like “gap years” you’ll often have kids 25-30 years old enrolled in college. Add in the fact that you have much higher participation rates in grad school this century, and the average age of a college student has increased significantly. Depending on your home insurance policy, there can be some wording that would exclude damages from these older “kids”.
Combine those two facts with the fact that Renters Insurance is often about $100/year for a college student, and it makes it a pretty easy decision to just go ahead and add on the Renters policy. You can pay the whole year up front or monthly and by having an insurance policy solely in their name, it can help them to build payment history / credit.
If you have more questions about this, or anything else, give me a call at 615-861-2201.
