Dorm Room insurance?

[MrsPete]

I asked the parents over on college confidential about these laptop locks and did their children use them and most responded that no the kids didn't use these. You can view the thread here to see some points of view on this. That was my original plan and it has since evolved into no laptop lock but get dorm insurance.

I totally agree that it's useless if it's sitting in a drawer, but for less than the cost of a fast food meal for my family, I still think it's a worthwhile investment. I think it'd be most useful in the dorm room -- it's soooo easy to leave the room unlocked "just for a minute". Sure, you can talk and talk, and the student can agree that it's absolutely right to keep the door locked, but it's going to happen.

And don't overlook the obvious problem with insurance: It may replace the stolen laptop, but it won't replace the Chemistry notes or the paper that's due tomorrow. The loss of a laptop -- even if it were replaced immediately -- could be catastrophic to the student's grades.

Remember all the books that sometimes go over 1000 per semester.......those to replace would be horrible..

I had a book stolen my first semester. In retrospect, it was pure foolishness. I was young and naive. I left it on a cafeteria table while I went to get my food. What was I thinking? It was a crime of opportunity, which I'm sure is the most common type on college campuses.

On the positive side, although books are incredibly expensive, it'd take a monumentally stupid move to get them ALL stolen at once . . . so it's highly unlikely that you'd ever have to replace $1000 worth of books at once.

The laptop locks take a quick snip of a wire cutter to get through and off they go. The lock boxes are just as easy to pick up and toss in a backpack as a wallet. The best prevention is for your college student to lock their door when they are not in the room-even if it is a quick trip to the bathroom. While these devices give YOU peace of mind, they don't really deter theft.

I disagree. Few students walk through the library carrying wire cutters. And lock boxes designed for college use come with cables that attach to bedframes (or similar), so they can't really be toted away in a backpack. I had a small footlocker in college, which doubled as a small table. A thief would've been rather noticeable walking away with it -- after all, everyone on my hall knew it was mine.

If someone's decided to break into YOUR HOME -- if they know you personally have something they want -- they're probably going to do it. But good door locks, a dog, etc. can make the thief say, "This house is too tough a target. I'll go a few doors down." Those things prevent crimes of opportunity in your home. These college security items can do the same thing. They can make a dishonest person say, "Oooh, there's a laptop. Nah, it's secured." No, they won't make your posessions 100% safe, but they will make them safer.

 

[ZachnElli]

We have our kids' instruments scheduled on our policy--again, waiving the deductible if they are lost but it also covers repairs if they are vandalized (scratched in the band room, etc.). We have our golf equipment on this policy as well. This particular policy is a personal property policy through State Farm. I think we have 2 saxophones, 2 trombones, 5 sets of golf equipment and some art work on this and it's $90/year, no deductible, not considered a claim against your homeowner's insurance. You do need to have a home or auto policy with State Farm to get this though, I think. Otherwise, you can schedule them on your regular homeowner's policy. It was just less expensive to go this route for us.

When I worked for a State Farm agent a few years ago, there absolutely was a deductible, usually $500, unless the insured asked for higher. You also said that people don't get dropped for too many claims, maybe not in Minnesota but they do in Nebraska. I fought with many underwriters to try to keep people who had weather claims from getting dropped! I'm still licensed and still working in insurance and some of the things you are saying vary by state. I don't know any company that would extend a parent's renter's policy to an adult child's apartment that is also leased just because she is attending college.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I totally agree that it's useless if it's sitting in a drawer, but for less than the cost of a fast food meal for my family, I still think it's a worthwhile investment. I think it'd be most useful in the dorm room -- it's soooo easy to leave the room unlocked "just for a minute". Sure, you can talk and talk, and the student can agree that it's absolutely right to keep the door locked, but it's going to happen.

And don't overlook the obvious problem with insurance: It may replace the stolen laptop, but it won't replace the Chemistry notes or the paper that's due tomorrow. The loss of a laptop -- even if it were replaced immediately -- could be catastrophic to the student's grades.
I had a book stolen my first semester. In retrospect, it was pure foolishness. I was young and naive. I left it on a cafeteria table while I went to get my food. What was I thinking? It was a crime of opportunity, which I'm sure is the most common type on college campuses.

On the positive side, although books are incredibly expensive, it'd take a monumentally stupid move to get them ALL stolen at once . . . so it's highly unlikely that you'd ever have to replace $1000 worth of books at once.I disagree. Few students walk through the library carrying wire cutters. And lock boxes designed for college use come with cables that attach to bedframes (or similar), so they can't really be toted away in a backpack. I had a small footlocker in college, which doubled as a small table. A thief would've been rather noticeable walking away with it -- after all, everyone on my hall knew it was mine.

If someone's decided to break into YOUR HOME -- if they know you personally have something they want -- they're probably going to do it. But good door locks, a dog, etc. can make the thief say, "This house is too tough a target. I'll go a few doors down." Those things prevent crimes of opportunity in your home. These college security items can do the same thing. They can make a dishonest person say, "Oooh, there's a laptop. Nah, it's secured." No, they won't make your posessions 100% safe, but they will make them safer.

My bolding above.
Just came home from orientation where we learned that indeed, Almost ALL the theft is crimes of opportunity. They said quite a bit of it was things like laptops sitting on the front seat of a car with the car unlocked. People laughed and said "how dumb" and the police were like "you're laughing now but you wouldn't believe how often this happens". Most of the remainder of theft was made up of things like ipods being left somewhere and the owner going back 5 mins later and it's gone type of thing. They said they had very very few actual "break ins" either into cars or rooms. They said 95% of the time it was a case of the student not locking their car or keeping their belongings in their possession.

 

[tvguy]

The laptop locks take a quick snip of a wire cutter to get through and off they go. The lock boxes are just as easy to pick up and toss in a backpack as a wallet. The best prevention is for your college student to lock their door when they are not in the room-even if it is a quick trip to the bathroom. While these devices give YOU peace of mind, they don't really deter theft.

My son's college recommends desk tops to off set the theft problem, and a $300 netbook if the student really wants some sort of a computer in class. You usually can get a netbook and a desktop for less than just what a laptop would cost.

 

[golfgal]

When I worked for a State Farm agent a few years ago, there absolutely was a deductible, usually $500, unless the insured asked for higher. You also said that people don't get dropped for too many claims, maybe not in Minnesota but they do in Nebraska. I fought with many underwriters to try to keep people who had weather claims from getting dropped! I'm still licensed and still working in insurance and some of the things you are saying vary by state. I don't know any company that would extend a parent's renter's policy to an adult child's apartment that is also leased just because she is attending college.

Maybe in NE it is different but we have a personal articles policy from State Farm, no deductible and it isn't chargeable against your homeowner's insurance. With the items we have scheduled on our homeowner's policy (with a different company) by scheduling them the deductible is waived as well but those are chargeable claims. Like I said, it is VERY difficult to get dropped from an insurance company, everyone get that letter saying if you have too many claims you will be dropped but I find it hard to believe that weather related claims get people dropped, especially since they are not chargeable claims. I have yet to see that happen, ever unless they stop writing business in an area (like Florida).

 

[LilyWDW]

My bolding above.
Just came home from orientation where we learned that indeed, Almost ALL the theft is crimes of opportunity. They said quite a bit of it was things like laptops sitting on the front seat of a car with the car unlocked. People laughed and said "how dumb" and the police were like "you're laughing now but you wouldn't believe how often this happens". Most of the remainder of theft was made up of things like ipods being left somewhere and the owner going back 5 mins later and it's gone type of thing. They said they had very very few actual "break ins" either into cars or rooms. They said 95% of the time it was a case of the student not locking their car or keeping their belongings in their possession.

Or students that leave phones, laptops, textbooks, and wallets just sitting around with no one near them. Either in their bags or just out on a table. They just leave it there for anyone that is just walking by can easily grab.

Do parents not warn their kids of this? Or do the kids just think it won't happen to them? I simply can not contemplate just leaving items of such value unattended.

 

[golfgal]

Or students that leave phones, laptops, textbooks, and wallets just sitting around with no one near them. Either in their bags or just out on a table. They just leave it there for anyone that is just walking by can easily grab.

Do parents not warn their kids of this? Or do the kids just think it won't happen to them? I simply can not contemplate just leaving items of such value unattended.

Easy, they are still kids, they feel safe on campus and they just don't pay attention.

 

[MrsPete]

Easy, they are still kids, they feel safe on campus and they just don't pay attention.

That's it exactly. They just don't think. And they don't want to think that their fellow students are the type of people who would steal an ipod, laptop, whatever.

 

[tlbwriter]

Really? Don't read other answers. Sounds like an ad to me.

It may be an ad, but I have actually heard good things about Square Trade.

The laptop locks take a quick snip of a wire cutter to get through and off they go. The lock boxes are just as easy to pick up and toss in a backpack as a wallet. The best prevention is for your college student to lock their door when they are not in the room-even if it is a quick trip to the bathroom. While these devices give YOU peace of mind, they don't really deter theft.

They deter the most common type of theft - someone seeing an unattended object and snapping it up. Yes, if someone specifically wants your laptop and happens to be armed with wire cutters, they will still get it. But a more likely scenario is that you leave it on your desk with your door open and someone walks by and snatches it. And it doesn't matter how responsible your own child is - if they have an irresponsible roommate, everything is up for grabs.

 

[golfgal]

It may be an ad, but I have actually heard good things about Square Trade.



They deter the most common type of theft - someone seeing an unattended object and snapping it up. Yes, if someone specifically wants your laptop and happens to be armed with wire cutters, they will still get it. But a more likely scenario is that you leave it on your desk with your door open and someone walks by and snatches it. And it doesn't matter how responsible your own child is - if they have an irresponsible roommate, everything is up for grabs.

They give people a false sense of security though and that is the point. Kids think that if they have a computer lock they don't have to worry about their door being locked, etc.

 

[snykymom]

I have to say that I now swear by CSI. I know others say that your homeowners will cover their stuff, but my homeowners has a $250 deductible. My d's computer was damaged; CSI paid for repair (over $600) while my homeowners would have rejected the claim for accidental damage. Her camera was broken - accidentally, of course; CSI paid for replacement, and it was too small a claim for my homeowners. Her cellphone was recently stolen; CSI paid the full amount for a replacement phone that was not eligible for upgrade (so it cost significantly more than the "with a 2 year contract" price).

Remember also that your homeowner's insurance can cancel you if you make too many claims. CSI doesn't. And the premiums don't go up for the next year even if you make a claim.

Absolutely worth the $150 yearly premium.

 

[cruisnfamily]

I have to say that I now swear by CSI. I know others say that your homeowners will cover their stuff, but my homeowners has a $250 deductible. My d's computer was damaged; CSI paid for repair (over $600) while my homeowners would have rejected the claim for accidental damage. Her camera was broken - accidentally, of course; CSI paid for replacement, and it was too small a claim for my homeowners. Her cellphone was recently stolen; CSI paid the full amount for a replacement phone that was not eligible for upgrade (so it cost significantly more than the "with a 2 year contract" price).

Remember also that your homeowner's insurance can cancel you if you make too many claims. CSI doesn't. And the premiums don't go up for the next year even if you make a claim.

Absolutely worth the $150 yearly premium.

These are the types of things I picture happening! Well worth the $124 premium for the CSI insurance.

We have decided that for our family, the insurance is worthwhile.

 

[doxdogy]

The laptop locks take a quick snip of a wire cutter to get through and off they go. The lock boxes are just as easy to pick up and toss in a backpack as a wallet. The best prevention is for your college student to lock their door when they are not in the room-even if it is a quick trip to the bathroom. While these devices give YOU peace of mind, they don't really deter theft.

The laptop locks we use at work would take more than wire cutters. I should know, I had to distribute them to over fifty people. We even had one office broken into a couple of years ago. All laptops were secured with laptop locks and none were taken.