Renters Insurance???

D

DSANN

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Seems to be a 50/50 split in opinions in the cyber world about getting renters insurance for students to cover their dorm items (uniforms, laptop, phone etc). Thoughts from past/present parents/families/students?
 
Our state parent's group highly recommends. They did an information, meet and greet zoom with current parents, alumnus parents and P2B parents. They also had a USAA rep on the conference who provided contact info. Our son plans to set up coverage this week.
 
If it’s the USAA policy designed for SA cadets and mids, the idea is all their personal property is covered, whether at home, on cruise, in Bancroft, in a sponsor’s basement, in a shared storage locker. Mids think they don’t have much “stuff,” but laptop and peripherals, gaming devices, uniform items, sports gear, class ring, etc., add up, and after graduation, more accumulation occurs. This also establishes their membership date with USAA, and counts for multi-product discount when they add auto insurance. The SA policy easily morphs into the policy that again covers their stuff in the car as they drive between duty stations, in a storage unit, at the apartment while they are on cruise, in your garage, etc., after graduation. They learn about property insurance, deductibles, premiums. This means, too, they can make their own claims with a low deductible, rather than try parents’ homeowner’s with a larger deductible, and driving up the claim record for relatively small stuff on the family policy. It launches them toward adult financial literacy.

No rush, though. I always thought start of 2/c year was a good time to acquire that.

The classic anecdote. We suggest to all our sponsor mids they consider a personal property policy, during conversations about “Officer money things.” We had a sponsor mid who loaded everything he owned into his car - laptop, every uniform, brand new sword and officer cover, xBox, Trek bike on the back - during commissioning week. Parked it at a buddy’s house, too tired to move valuables inside. The next morning, all gone. His auto policy covered the car, his personal property policy the “stuff,” with low deductible. When we were between houses, the PPP covered my dress uniforms when the idiot in the BOQ room above me at a school started a fire in his microwave, and the water damage ruined my uniforms, ribbons, cover, shoes. I called USAA, sent them a photo of the damaged items and the police report, plus the Uniform Store price list and estimated replacement cost. The money was in my checking account in 24 hours, less deductible.

To sum up, I recommend it, but no mad rush to get it as a plebe, unless they are joining the Tri Club and get permission to bring a really expensive bike, or have other high value items.

The key is the military member is the policy owner, so that mid or cadet must call or go online. It will be hard for plebes to go into the Annapolis office, given available town liberty hours the first year. They only get busier after that, so getting it does tend to slide down the To Do list. It does no harm to get it done sooner rather than later.
 
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I also heard stories from my guys plebe year, when Annapolis had record rainfall/humidity. Couldn’t dry out Bancroft. Uniforms molded. Renters should cover that.

It’s personal choice, but the peace of mind that comes for about $10/month is huge. And if you don’t have it, and something happens, and you are forking our thousands of dollars....you will regret not spending that about $10/ month.
 
Capt MJ said:
If it’s the USAA policy designed for SA cadets and mids, the idea is all their personal property is covered, whether at home, on cruise, in Bancroft, in a sponsor’s basement, in a shared storage locker. Mids think they don’t have much “stuff,” but laptop and peripherals, gaming devices, uniform items, sports gear, class ring, etc., add up, and after graduation, more accumulation occurs. This also establishes their membership date with USAA, and counts for multi-product discount when they add auto insurance. The SA policy easily morphs into the policy that again covers their stuff in the car as they drive between duty stations, in a storage unit, at the apartment while they are on cruise, in your garage, etc., after graduation. They learn about property insurance, deductibles, premiums. This means, too, they can make their own claims with a low deductible, rather than try parents’ homeowner’s with a larger deductible, and driving up the claim record for relatively small stuff on the family policy. It launches them toward adult financial literacy.

No rush, though. I always thought start of 2/c year was a good time to acquire that.

The classic anecdote. We suggest to all our sponsor mids they consider a personal property policy, during conversations about “Officer money things.” We had a sponsor mid who loaded everything he owned into his car - laptop, every uniform, brand new sword and officer cover, xBox, Trek bike on the back - during commissioning week. Parked it at a buddy’s house, too tired to move valuables inside. The next morning, all gone. His auto policy covered the car, his personal property policy the “stuff,” with low deductible. When we were between houses, the PPP covered my dress uniforms when the idiot in the BOQ room above me at a school started a fire in his microwave, and the water damage ruined my uniforms, ribbons, cover, shoes. I called USAA, sent them a photo of the damaged items and the police report, plus the Uniform Store price list and estimated replacement cost. The money was in my checking account in 24 hours, less deductible.

To sum up, I recommend it, but no mad rush to get it as a plebe, unless they are joining the Tri Club and get permission to bring a really expensive bike, or have other high value items.

The key is the military member is the policy owner, so that mid or cadet must call or go online. It will be hard for plebes to go into the Annapolis office, given available town liberty hours the first year. They only get busier after that, so getting it does tend to slide down the To Do list. It does no harm to get it done sooner rather than later.
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And again - a wealth of information! Thank you so much for your response. Greatly appreciated!!!
 
In most states and with most insurance companies, the parent's homeowners policy already provides coverage for up to 10% of the amount of contents coverage carried on the parent's homeowner's insurance policy to cover the stuff of the student away. There are limitations typically for FT student (box checked) and age (varies by carrier).

No need to buy coverage you already have. USAA does some nice things, but they are one heck of a marketing team in efforts to get these young people indoctrinated into the USAA fold.

Check with your carrier, you probably already have the coverage. It will be subject to the deductible on your policy, but you are already paying for it nonetheless.
 
BTW, for those new Ensigns out there -- DEFINITELY get it for your rental apartment. Chances are 98% you'll never use it but if you're the 2% whose apartment floods or gets burned (often due to the negligence of others) or broken into -- you will be kicking yourself for not spending the ~$10/month.
 
jebdad said:
In most states and with most insurance companies, the parent's homeowners policy already provides coverage for up to 10% of the amount of contents coverage carried on the parent's homeowner's insurance policy to cover the stuff of the student away. There are limitations typically for FT student (box checked) and age (varies by carrier).

No need to buy coverage you already have. USAA does some nice things, but they are one heck of a marketing team in efforts to get these young people indoctrinated into the USAA fold.

Check with your carrier, you probably already have the coverage. It will be subject to the deductible on your policy, but you are already paying for it nonetheless.
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Excellent points here - check your homeowner’s or personal property policy first, to see what makes the most sense for your particular situation.

Be sure you are clear if away-at-school-student coverage in your existing policy includes loss/damage incurred out of the country on summer cruise on a Navy combatant ship, out of the country, at locations other than the “college dorm,” etc. I joined a ship in the Med via small boat, and a rough wave caught me off-balance stepping up onto the heaving platform, and I didn’t go into the water, but the small bag with my officer cover and complete bag of insignia and ribbons did, never to be seen again. I had 3 dress uniforms get burned up on 9/11 in the Pentagon, plus yet another officer cover and a bag with expensive squash racquets. That day was deemed an act of terrorism, but I never worried about my policy not covering my stuff no matter the circumstances. I got my first USAA property policy out of OCS, with orders to Spain. I called my parents’ long-time State Farm agent, asked him about auto and property insurance in Spain, and he laughed, told me to call USAA, “because they cover your stuff in places we don’t touch.” So, definitely once commissioned, and see what works best during SA years. It’s all risk management.
 
Building on the advice above:

(1) Renters insurance is, pound for pound, about the cheapest coverage you can buy. Given the choice between life insurance or renters insurance for a young adult with no dependents, I’d choose the latter.

(2) It’s never too soon to teach young adults about personal finance, including insurance. This is a great introduction to protecting one’s assets, without mom’s and dad’s help. And so easy to do.
 
jebdad said:
In most states and with most insurance companies, the parent's homeowners policy already provides coverage for up to 10% of the amount of contents coverage carried on the parent's homeowner's insurance policy to cover the stuff of the student away. There are limitations typically for FT student (box checked) and age (varies by carrier).

No need to buy coverage you already have. USAA does some nice things, but they are one heck of a marketing team in efforts to get these young people indoctrinated into the USAA fold.

Check with your carrier, you probably already have the coverage. It will be subject to the deductible on your policy, but you are already paying for it nonetheless.
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I have (and had) USAA homeowners which certainly covered my kids when they went away to school. In the case of my USNA son, I "strongly encouraged" him to move onto his own renters policy when he bought his midshipman car which he owned and (of course) insured. That is probably a convenient breakpoint for service academy mids/cadets. For the other three kids, it was when they either bought a car or rented their first apartment.
PS: Yes, I hate the thought of "double paying" for the same thing, in this case coverage but I was willing to chalk up the cost to him becoming an adult financially. It's a pretty small amount of money and the benefits of raising a competent adult were important to us.
 
This issue comes up with students in NY. In NY as was suggested, parents homeowners cover it. Check the homeowners ... but if the midshipmen files independently, that might not work. The homeowners might only cover dependents.

Also ... if the midshipmen has auto insurance ... typically the company charges like 100 annually for renters insurance - and auto insurance goes down a similar amount because you have multiple policies with the company.
 
I am all for doing your research and price/product shopping. I just cannot fathom any other company understanding the nuances of military life, property, tours etc better than USAA. My grandfather got my dad on the USAA bandwagon, then my mom made me a member before we turned 18. I signed our son and daughter up before they were 16 so they could be members. Should make it pretty easy transition for our P2B to get a policy started. We are going to start him up before he reports, that $3182 computer package is not something I, nor he wish to replace out of pocket. And, to begin 'adulting' as it were, he will pay for said policy with the haul he took in graduation gifts. He flies the nest in 13 days! Time to grow his flight feathers and begin adulting.
 
Just received #1 son's USAA renewal. $10,000 worth of coverage plus personal computer (laptop) and (IPad) for $178.59 a year. GREAT deal, covers all his uniforms and issued gear and if damaged in any way or broken replaced without hassle. This is versus #2 son (NROTC) student $371.64 for the same coverage (he is in a Hurricane area). Don't take the chance or mold, mildew, or damage get the USAA insurance is is a GREAT deal!
 
I use USAA. I also insure certain high value items (i.e., jewelry) with Armed Forces Insurance Exchange (AFIE). For some reason (can't remember why) I used them on my first deployment. My brand new bicycle was stolen the day I bought it (lock was cut). They reimbursed right away when I was overseas -- had a check in about two weeks and this was WELL before the Internet or even before long-distance phone calls were easy or cheap.
 
USAA here as well. We use the renters as the initial layer of coverage, and treated homeowners (USAA as well) as excess. So Renters, with a minimal deductible, acts as the deductible payment for the homeowners, on his stuff, for now. I don't really recall the cost, but it was 175-200 per year, with some additional jewelry on it to cover ring, some of his watches, etc.
 
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