Renters insurance is required by some landlords before a lease is signed. It’s a good idea. The liability is spread around, and everyone gets protection. It can protect from fire and theft, as well as liability for accidents and injuries. Something an already in debt college student can use to protect themselves and their future.
There is a surprising amount of material goods that will be headed out the door toward a dorm room or apartment when new college students leave for school. The average replacement value of the contents of a dorm room is around five thousand dollars. And that price goes up by the number of years the student is in college.
Consider that all of those possessions are at more than twice the risk of being stolen once they arrive at college. It is the nature of college life. First time in a new place, and it’s easy to forget that you don’t know everyone (like at home). There is also a pretty good chance that there are more than two people responsible for making sure the doors are locked before they leave for class. Burglars learn to rattle door handles in college towns early in their criminal careers because college students all have ipods, laptops and T.V.s. Electronics are the easiest thing to sell on the black market.
No one wants to imagine the consequences of a loss from fire, but in your life, college will be where you will likely face your biggest risk. There will be a lot of people living in close proximity to each other and you as parents or students need to make sure you have done your best to be prepared for the worst. A smoke detector is not only important to save lives, but it can help reduce the cost of insuring the contents of the dorm or apartment.
So, before you load the van, take some time to really do an inventory of valuables. Then, do the hard work of figuring out what it would cost to replace it all. This will serve you in two ways; find out what all of it is worth, and help you account for losses should something bad happen. Mitigating the risk is what insurance is all about and it’s important to know what is really at risk during this new phase in all of your lives. Keep your inventory save and review it periodically to account for added and updated items. Should you ever need this list, you will be glad you have it.
Insuring the contents of a college students home is just as important as insuring the family home. To replace one laptop and set of textbooks is enough to make renters insurance a bargain. College is expensive enough without buying all that stuff a second time!