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Do college students need renters insurance?

I’m heading off to college in a few months! My future roommate and I have been messaging each other, and she mentioned she was thinking about getting a renters insurance policy, which I’ve never heard of before. Do college students need renters insurance? We’re going to live off-campus if that helps.

avatar
Melanie Mergen · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Congratulations on this exciting upcoming chapter! Anyone who’s renting a home can benefit from renters insurance, including college students.
Two important things that
renters insurance
does are:
  • Protect your personal belongings if they’re lost, stolen, or damaged
  • Offer personal liability coverage if someone were to get injured in your apartment
If you were staying in an on-campus dorm but still a legal resident of your family’s house, you’d likely still be covered under your parents’ homeowners or renters insurance. (Double-check to make sure, though.)
Since you’ll be living off-campus, getting renters insurance would be a very good idea. It’s hard for most students to build up enough savings during college, which can put you in a tough spot if you need to replace an expensive item, like a laptop.
It’s important to know that to get coverage for personal items, the cause of damage or loss has to be a
named peril
in your policy. Common named perils include:
  • Theft
  • Fire
  • Smoke
  • Hail
  • Windstorms
Lastly, renters insurance is one of the most affordable kinds of insurance, and if you do ever need to make a claim, having it could end up saving you thousands of dollars.
Hope this helps, and best of luck as you start your first semester! If you’re looking for a way to make finding a good renters insurance policy easy,
Jerry
can be of assistance. Jerry will gather quotes from top insurance companies for you to review, and for any questions that may come up along the way, Jerry also has its team of friendly and experienced agents ready to listen and offer you advice.
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