Are Your Things Worth Insuring as a Student?

The usual student view is that insurance is for people with possessions, and that a room with a laptop and some clothes does not qualify.

It is worth doing the arithmetic once, because the number is generally higher than expected and the cover is generally cheaper.

Just-In-Time Moving works across West Valley City and Salt Lake County. We are licensed in Utah and carry general liability insurance.

Add it up honestly

A laptop. A phone. Headphones. A tablet or monitor. A bicycle. Textbooks, which are absurdly expensive. Clothing, which people always undercount because it accumulates. A musical instrument, sports equipment, or a camera if you have one.

Most students arrive at a figure between one and several thousand dollars. That is not nothing, and replacing it at once is not something a student budget absorbs.

You may already be covered

Check this before buying anything. Many homeowners policies extend some cover to a dependent student living in university housing, usually at a reduced limit.

The important detail is that this frequently applies to on-campus housing and frequently does not apply to a private apartment off campus. That distinction catches people out, and moving out of halls into a flat is exactly when it changes.

One call to the family's insurer answers it.

What renters insurance actually does

Two things, and the second is the one students overlook.

Contents, for theft, fire and water damage. Student housing sees more of all three than people expect, and shared entrances raise the theft risk.

Liability, if you cause damage to the building or somebody is injured. A bath left running through a floor is the classic case, and the sum involved is far beyond a contents claim.

Many leases require it, so you may be buying it regardless.

Questions worth asking

Is the bicycle covered, and away from the property? Is the laptop covered when carried to campus? Are belongings covered during a move or in storage over the summer? Is there a per-item limit that a laptop exceeds?

Practical steps regardless

Photograph what you own and note serial numbers. Keep documents and anything irreplaceable with you rather than in a box. Register the bicycle. Do not leave the laptop where it can be seen through a window on a ground floor.

Call (435) 862-3080 or email office@movingjustintime.com.