Up until a few years ago, I was a university student myself. I lived in the halls of residence for the first year, and then onto rented student accommodation for my remaining 2 years. During these 3 years I realised how valuable student contents insurance can be. The weekend you move into the halls of residence is a crazy one. People are going back and forth, and carrying their valuables back and forth. Unfortunately for someone in the adjacent building, a thief choose to strike at this vulnerable time, and pretty much managed to clear out what had been brought into a student rooms, whilst they were downstairs in the car park, picking up more items to bring to their new residence. Lucky for this student, they had students contents cover, so they were protected, but it was obviously still an issue they would have rather not encountered. Unfortunately, this appears to be a regular thing among student accommodation across the country, as students valuables are at a higher risk of theft here, than at the family home. In fact, recent studies have stated that one in three university students are the victim of crime each year.
When students move away from home, and into student accommodation, they like to bring pretty much everything along with them, so that they have maximum comfort, and are surrounded with the things that their accustomed to, so as to make their stay as easy as possible. In student accommodation, you can typically find all types of items, such as home entertainment systems, clothes, furnishings, money, credit & debit cards, phones, library books and other materials on loan from the university, CD’s, DVD’s, Blu-Ray’s and other media, computer equipment, mp3 players, bicycles, freezers filled with food, microwaves, and even bar fridges.
Fortunately, all of these items can be covered under a good student possessions insurance policy. Not only can the above items be covered, but portable computer equipment, locks and keys, the information stored on your home entertainment equipment or phone, other portable possessions, and even the food within your freezer following its mechanical failure, and your legal responsibilities to 3rd parties as a tenant may also be covered via students possessions insurance.
As can be seen from this list, it’s of paramount importance that all students search for student contents insurance before moving into any student accommodation, so that they can protect the items that are valuable to them with a suitable insurance policy. Being a student, the person might not want the added expense, especially when their funds are limited during this time, but it truly is worth the expense, and if the student shops around, they can easily find a student contents insurance policy which fits their needs, as well as their budget.
If the student is worried about the cost of student contents insurance, with some insurance policy providers they are able to specifically select only the items they want covered, which should lower the premium some amount, and they can also raise the excess on the student contents insurance policy, which will also lower the premium. However, it’s important to note that it’s strongly advised to insure everything you take with you when possible, as if you were to be robbed, and cleared out, the cost of the lower priced items, whilst at the time of taking the student contents insurance may not have seemed that valuable, can really add up to a hefty chunk of change when the price of each is totalled into a lump sum.
Student contents insurance protects your valuables against theft, loss or accidental damage (this includes damage due to escaping water from tanks or pipes, as well as storm, flood, or fire damage). The items will be insured up to their full value, on a new for old basis, except for items which can suffer from wear and tear, for example clothing and household linen.
Similar to other insurance policies, the student contents insurance policy holder will be responsible for the excess, which is the first part of any claim which is made.
Student contents insurance applies and covers the students valuable whilst their in their accommodation, whilst in a universities locked storage area on campus, or whilst in direct transit between your student accommodation and your permanent home address.
As with any type of policy, it’s of the highest importance that you read the policy and term and conditions thoroughly so as to know exactly how your covered, as each companies student contents insurance policy can vary widely, and the last thing you need is a problem when needing to make a claim, because of an oversight on your behalf.