It’s back to school season! Do you have teens starting college for the first time? This is a new stage in life for you college student. While it may be fun for them, it can be stressful for you as a parent. To reduce some of the stress, plan ahead to make sure your child has the insurance they need while they are pursuing their degree.

There are several different ways your college student can be covered. Talking to your insurance agent can help you determine which type of insurance will be best for you.

Coverage under Homeowners Insurance

They are covered as a percentage of the personal property limit on the parents’ homeowners insurance policy. Many insurance companies will count living on a college campus as a secondary residence. This may allow coverage for the student’s belongings. The coverage is based off of the percentage of the personal property limit on the parents’ home insurance policy. Personal property includes items that can be taken off your homes premises. As an example: if you have $80,000 of personal property coverage, the college student can have 10% of that amount as property with them at school. Everything up to that amount would be covered; however, not all insurance companies offer this and there are exceptions. Liability insurance coverage may not be included. This would protect them for bodily injury or any damage they may cause to other students’ property.

Personal Property Insurance

Coverage as part of the personal property policy limit on the parents’ homeowners policy. Some insurance companies allow students to be covered by the broader personal property limit on the parents’ homeowners insurance policy. What this means is that if you have $90,000 worth of personal property coverage, this would include your students’ property. This means that they don’t have a limit based on a percentage. So the student could have $20,000 of property covered. This type of insurance policy could also include liability coverage as well. Not all insurance companies offer this insurance.

Renters Insurance

Since the student will often be at school for roughly 9 months each year, some insurance providers require students to have renters insurance in order to have coverage of their personal property. Obviously, there would be more cost in this option since the student would have to have their own policy, and can’t just use their parents’ insurance. However, Renters Insurance is generally cheap. Something else to keep in mind: generally, each roommate will need to have their own policy. You can’t just have a policy for everyone. Liability coverage is usually included in renters insurance.

If you are sending your teen to college this year, make sure they are protected. Since there will be many other students around them, a lot can happen to their property, such as theft and damages. Give us a call to see if your homeowners insurance policy will cover your student.