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Insurance Tips for Back to School!

Here are some tips to make sure you’re completely insured this back to school season, no matter your specific lifestyle or situation.

Back to school tips if your kid is going to college…
Consider renters insurance
If your son or daughter is planning to live on campus or rent an apartment in college, they’ll likely need renters insurance. Even if the apartment complex is “approved” by the school or has a university landlord, your child needs to be insured with a distinct renters policy. Most landlords’ or university insurance will only cover the structure of the building. That means anything within the walls of the apartment, including appliances and personal possessions, should be covered with appropriate renters’ insurance.

You’ll need to purchase renters insurance in the state where your child is renting and attending school. If it’s your first time buying renters insurance, here’s how to get started.

Contents coverage
If your son/daughter is staying in a dorm room, they may still have some personal property coverage under your homeowners insurance. Their possessions would fall under your personal property coverage, so you want to make sure you are accounting for their belongings on your homeowners contents coverage.

Before your student packs up the car and heads off to school, you may want to review all the belongings they’re bringing with them with your insurance agent. Most homeowners insurance policies put a special limit on items away from the primary residence, usually around 10% of the policy limits, which may not be enough to cover what your child is bringing to school.

You’ll also want to weigh whether making a claim on your homeowners is worth it for your family, since claims can raise your homeowners insurance rates. A renters insurance policy is a generally low cost alternative to using your homeowners for a child at school.

College insurance tips:
-Safeguard your items from theft.

-Lock your dorm room or apartment.

-Don’t leave belongings unattended. Even the safest campuses have theft, so it doesn’t hurt to take precautions.
-Leave valuables at home unless you need them. Expensive jewelry and electronics may be safer at the parents’ house.
-Consider purchasing umbrella insurance for additional liability. If your college kid accidentally causes an accident, they could be responsible for personal injury or property damage worth thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars. An umbrella policy is an inexpensive way to mitigate these risks and protect your family’s assets.

-Make sure you have enough health insurance. Most policies will cover kids up to 26 years of age, but you want to make sure it covers doctors and hospitals in the state where they are going to school. You can also look into school health plans as a primary or secondary option. Please note, InsuraMatch doesn’t work with health insurance.