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Don’t Forget Your College Student’s Insurance Needs

With the start of the fall semester at colleges and universities in a few weeks, don’t forget to update your insurance needs so you and your child have the necessary coverage.

For college students living in dorms, most homeowners policies will cover personal belongings up to a certain percentage (usually 10 percent) of the personal property limit stated in your homeowners policy. So if your child will be taking a computer, microwave, mini refrigerator, tablet, smartphone, television and a video gaming system to school, will 10 percent cover the cost to replace these items if they are stolen, damaged or destroyed?

Check the coverage limits of your policy to make sure you are adequately covered. If you aren’t, you may want to increase your policy limit or purchase an additional renter’s insurance policy to ensure that there is no gap in coverage.

And since college students are more vulnerable to identity theft, review your homeowners policy to see if it includes identity theft coverage and whether it extends to your child attending college and living away from your primary residence.

For students who will be living in off-campus housing, renter’s insurance is a must since homeowners policies will not cover personal belongings for students not living in a dormitory.

Having a detailed inventory of your child’s possessions will help with filing a claim, how much to increase your homeowners policy limits or how much renter’s insurance to purchase. This inventory should include the purchase prices, model numbers and/or serial numbers of the items they will be taking to school.

Most homeowners policies will extend coverage to theft of personal belongings in your child’s dorm room. Homeowners’ definition of “insured” includes “a student enrolled in school full-time, as defined by the school, who is a resident of your household before moving out to attend school, provided the student is under the age of 24 and your relative.”

Call E. R. Munro and Company at 1-877-376-8676 to learn more about insurance options for your college student.