NYC apartment insurance has a farther reach than you might think
As your nest begins to empty when your 19-year-old heads off to college in the coming weeks, don’t let theft, accidents, fire, storms or water damage wipe out a portion of your nest egg. A New York City co-op or condo insurance plan protects not only your midtown flat, but can also cover your college student’s dorm room possessions. Some companies may only cover up to a certain percentage of your policy, usually 10%.
Photo by laffy4K / Flickr Creative Commons
For about $230-280 annually, you can insure your NYC co-op or condo and protect your student’s belongings while she is living in a dorm, depending on your insurer. For example, if you have $50,000 worth of coverage for the contents of your home and your insurance company extends 10% of your policy’s coverage to your daughter’s belongings, she would be covered for insured losses up to $5,000. That’s a sizable chunk of money that wouldn’t have to come from your savings if something were to happen to your daughter’s personal possessions.
You have to check with your broker to see if coverage is provided for theft losses outside your apartment, and to what extent. If you don’t have it already, the coverage can be added. It’s important first to let your insurance agent know in writing that your child is leaving home to live in a dorm. Keep in mind that some companies will cover dorms but NOT off-campus apartments. Also, some companies may apply the 10% limit, but others treat a dorm theft as an off-premises loss and will cover up to the policy limit. A Gotham Brokerage professional helps you review your policy, making sure you have the right coverage for both your home and your college freshman’s dorm room contents.
Before your student moves into the dorm, take a quick electronic inventory of everything she is taking with her and make a note of how much it would cost to replace. If she has a pricey computer or a set of specialty equipment that she uses for her studies, you may need to beef up your policy coverage to pick up the cost of replacing those items in the event of an insured loss.
College campuses are, for the most part, safe, but petty theft can occur anywhere, and when you have hundreds of people crammed into a college dorm, accidents such as toilet overflows can become commonplace. The last thing you want to worry about when you are writing out a tuition check and sending a care package is coming up with $3,000 for a new computer.
Let Gotham Brokerage, a family-run business in New York City for more than 50 years, match you up with the right insurance agent. Give us a call at [telnumlink]212-406-7300[/telnumlink] or fill out the form at right.
