In the excitement of heading off to college, students may not stop to think about whether they need insurance for all the possessions they're bringing with them. But that laptop, stereo and other expensive devices — not to mention textbooks — may be worth protecting with a renter's policy.
Renter's insurance is a foreign concept to many young adults, who tend not to think much about insurance in general, said Laura Adams, senior analyst at the rate comparison site InsuranceQuotes.com. A survey done for the site this month found that just 12 percent of Americans age 18 to 29 said they had renter's insurance.
That may be because some "millennials" still live at home with their parents — or simply because they are young and optimistic, Ms. Adams said: Despite their low rates of insurance, about 60 percent said they were confident they could handle the financial impact of various mishaps, like the theft of their belongings. (The telephone survey by Princeton Survey Research Associates International queried 1,003 people in early August. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.)
It's a subject worth getting up to speed on, however. If you're a student under age 26 living in on-campus housing, and your parents have homeowner's or renter's insurance for their own home, that policy usually will cover your personal belongings if they are damaged or stolen, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Some policies, however, may limit coverage for a student's belongings to 10 percent of the total coverage provided by the parents' policy, Loretta Worters, a spokeswoman for the Insurance Information Institute, said in an email. So, if your parents' policy has $100,000 of personal-possessions insurance for their main home, only $10,000 would apply to items in your dorm room. Depending on the value of your belongings, then, you may want to consider extra coverage. Some policies also set dollar limits on coverage for jewelry or musical instruments; if the limits are too low, parents can add a "floater" or endorsement to their policy, to get a higher amount of coverage.
Still, because most unmodified policies provide just $1,000 in coverage for jewelry, you might w ant to leave more expensive pieces at home, or put them in a safe deposit box, Ms. Worters advised. Floaters for storing jewelry in a safe deposit box are typically less expensive, she said, and often insurers will let you take it out and wear it, if you alert them in advance.
If you live off-campus in an apartment or house, your parents' coverage probably won't apply, and you'll need to buy a separate policy. If you're living with roommates, you all may be able to buy a renter's policy together, the N.A.I.C. advises.
It's also a good idea to check with your school about any special rules; some colleges require on-campus students to carry renter's insurance.
Here are some questions about renter's insurance:
■ What does renter's insurance cover?
The policies cover personal belongings for the circumstances typically covered in a homeowner's policy, like fire, theft, vandalism and natural disasters such as hurricanes, Ms. Worters said. (Protection from floods isn't included, however, and requires special coverage.) Renter's policies may also cover liability for injury occurring to someone else at your apartment — say, while at a party — as well as your living expenses if you have to stay elsewhere because of fire or other damage.
Renter's policies generally won't cover common mishaps like spilling coffee on your iPad. But stand-alone protection policies may be available for computers, laptops, tablets and other electronics, Ms. Worters said � � and, she added, if you bought the items with a credit card, some insurance protection may be available through the card itself.
■ How much does renter's insurance cost?
Premiums average $15 to $30 a month, the N.A.I.C. says, depending on the size and location of the apartment, the types of possessions and the deductible — the amount you have to pay out of pocket before the policy pays out. The rate will depend in part on whether you choose "replacement" coverage, which pays for you to buy a new version of the lost or damaged item, or "cash value," which reimburses you for the item's current value.
■ What information do I need to file a claim?
You should make a list of your belongings, along with receipts or a notation of the purchase price, to document the amount of your loss in case you need to file a claim. Taking photos or videos of your possessions is also a good idea.
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