Do students need home insurance?

1. In some cases, students living in apartments can be covered by their parents’ insurance

In fact, parents’ home insurance usually covers the property and civil liability of children who are full-time college or university students and temporarily live away from their parents’ residence to study. 

If you wish to take advantage of this coverage, contact your insurance broker to:  

• Verify if your child meets the eligibility criteria included in your insurance contract
• Know the coverage limits that apply to your eligible children’s property
• Make sure the coverage amounts and limits that apply to your children will cover their property adequately

It’s important to note that this coverage only applies to the insured’s children. Any roommates must take out their own insurance. 

Students who can’t take advantage of the coverage included with their parents’ insurance should take out home insurance.

2. Why it’s important to be insured when living in an apartment

Home insurance lets tenants avoid significant financial losses and many headaches in a variety of situations that can happen to anyone.  Here are few examples: 

• If the tenant loses all his or her property (clothes, dishes, food, furniture, electronic appliances, etc.) due to theft or fire, the insurer would provide financial assistance to replace these items.
• If the apartment became uninhabitable after a fire, the insurer would cover the extra fees the tenant would incur for temporary lodging during the renovation work.
• If the tenant forgets to turn off the bathtub tap and water causes damage to the apartment below, the civil liability coverage included in the insurance could help cover some of the resulting expenses (repairs, lawsuit, etc.).

3. What does home insurance for tenants cover in general?

• Property inside the building, in the event of theft, vandalism, fire and water damage. 
• The insured’s civil liability, i.e. unintentional bodily injury to a third party or damage to someone else’s property for which the insured may be liable. This coverage will help pay compensation that is required in these types of situations.
• The property and civil liability of roommates, providing that the insurance broker was notified and their names were added to the contract.

4. How to purchase tenant’s insurance that’s truly tailored to your needs

Depending on the levels of coverage taken out for the property and the type of property in question, it is possible to get tenant’s insurance at an affordable price. The insurance broker will advise and guide the tenant in selecting his or her insurance coverage and the amounts. Here are a few things that should be discussed with the broker: 

• The insurance amount

The tenant must establish at that point how much it would cost to replace all his or her property (and, if necessary, the roommates’). Conducting an inventory of the property using the purchase receipts would be helpful in this exercise! If not, the broker will not be able to establish a realistic amount with the tenant. 

• Coverage available for water damage

Water damage claims are frequent for tenants. The basic contract will cover an insured tenant for damage caused to property due to a rupture of a water pipe or sanitary appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines or toilets.  

To be covered for damage caused by other situations, an additional coverage is required. These situations include: 

• Water seepage through the floor
• Sewer backup
• Water seepage through the roof and openings (doors and windows)

• Other additional coverage that could be beneficial 

The broker may recommend adding certain coverages to adequately protect certain property such as bicycles, computer equipment or jewelry.

Your insurance broker is there to help you prevent losses. Feel free to contact him or her!