Sending a Kid to College? What's Covered in the Dorm, and What Changes Once They Rent an Apartment

It's move-in weekend. WVU, Marshall, Davis & Elkins, Fairmont State, Glenville, Wesleyan. Half the parents in Randolph County are loading a truck this weekend, and a good number of them will call me Monday with one of two questions: is their stuff covered up there, and what do we do about the car.

Good news first. Under most homeowners policies, a full-time student who lived with you before they left for school is still covered under your policy. Their belongings are covered anywhere, including a dorm room in Morgantown. The one catch is that property kept somewhere other than your home is usually capped at 10% of your contents coverage.

So if your policy has $200,000 in contents coverage, that's $20,000 for the dorm room. That's plenty.

What usually matters more is the deductible. A $1,000 deductible against a stolen $1,200 laptop gets you a $200 check and a claim on your record. Most of what goes wrong in a dorm lands under the deductible.

There's also an age limit, typically under 24 if they're your relative. If you've got a grad student, check with me.

This is where it changes. Two things happen when they sign a lease:

• Some companies stop treating a 12-month apartment as "temporarily away from home" and start treating it as the student's own residence. When that happens, the 10% extension may not follow them. It depends on the company, so ask.
• The landlord is going to want proof of renters insurance, and your homeowners policy can't produce that.

The clean answer is a renters policy in the student's name. Around here that's $12 to $20 a month for their belongings plus liability, and it keeps their claims off your policy. One thing people miss: roommates each need their own. One policy doesn't cover the whole apartment. We wrote a full guide to renters insurance in West Virginia if you want the details.

• If the car stays home and school is more than 100 miles away, ask me about the student-away-at-school discount. They stay on your policy but get rated as an occasional driver, and it's a good discount.
• If the car goes with them, I need the address where it's going to sit overnight. Companies rate on where the car is garaged, and Morgantown isn't Elkins. Out-of-state schools are usually fine on your policy while they're a student, but I need to know.
• The good student discount keeps going through college. Send me the transcript.

• The e-bike or scooter. Motorized vehicles are excluded from homeowners liability once they leave your property. If they're riding one around campus, ask me about it specifically.
• The $3,000 laptop, the instrument, grandma's ring. Anything valuable enough to hurt should be scheduled on your policy. That takes the deductible off it and covers accidental damage, not just theft.

• Have them take a quick video of the room once it's packed. If something gets stolen you'll be glad you have it.
• Write down the serial numbers on the laptop, the phone, and the bike.
• Call me with the school address and whether the car is going.

Call the Elkins office before they leave. Five minutes covers it.

This is general information, not specific advice for your situation. Every policy is different.