Students Contents Insurance

When attending university, students are not aware that they may require insurance. Whether it be student car insurance or student contents insurance, it’s not uncommon for students to be totally unaware of the benefits of having everything covered under contents insurance.

Your student contents insurance is a very important thing to have and can save your bacon more times than you think, especially if you're staying in an area with high crime rates.

What is student contents insurance?

Contents insurance is insurance that pays for damage or for the loss of any possessions that are within the building. The best student contents insurance policies cover items that are in outbuildings or in the garden or in sheds, though you may not need student house contents insurance for outbuildings or sheds, however, student home contents insurance will likely cover more electrical appliances than normal contents insurance.

It is possible for people to buy contents insurance with home insurance but is usually sold as a separate product, especially as students often opt for different providers for each of the different insurances.

In the context of general insurance jargon, the word “possessions” means anything that is not a permanent fixture of the house. Permanent fixtures of the house are usually covered by building or home insurance.

Do you need contents insurance as a student?

Content insurance is different from car insurance as car insurance is a requirement, whereas content insurance is not. Though it is not a legal requirement, it is a smart move to have it.

Many people have valuables in their houses or flats, especially students, so it would be prudent to have cover for them. Laptops, study books, mobile phones and more are stored at your student accommodation so you will need to have insurance to cover these things.

Accidental damage is damage that happens as a result of non-deliberate or unexpected action.

Can students be covered by their parents’ contents insurance?

This depends on the insurance policy that your parents have taken out. This is not particularly common anymore, however, some companies may still offer it. If your parents do not have additional cover included on their own insurance then they may be able to speak to their insurance company and see if they can offer them additional cover from there.

For those that do have the cover, the policy may contain the caveat that students must return home within a set time frame.

If your parents do take out the additional cover on their insurance, then their excess might be higher as a result. It will also mean that their No Claims Bonus (NCB) will also be affected if you make a claim at any point.

Do you need to get buildings insurance as well as contents insurance?

Bulidings insurance is a requirement if you own your own property, however, for students, buildings insurance is unnecessary as your landlord or university will have likely already taken out buildings insurance.

It is not your responsibility to take buildings insurance out or to pay for it either, so you should only pay for your own contents insurance, which is not your landlord or university’s job to take out.

How much does student contents insurance cost?

This depends on the provider that you use and on the cover you have. Prices will always vary depending on who you are using and it will also depend on the monthly repayments.

Repayments every month are usually very low, even in relative means, which is good news for students looking to keep an eye on their student budget.

What are the different types of contents insurance?

Different companies may have different university student contents insurance available, but these are the most common types of contents insurance available for students.

These are the most common insurance types, not just for students, but for anyone else seeking contents insurance:

Type	Main features	Suitable for
Bedroom-rated	A policy that uses the number of bedrooms in your home to calculate the contents cover that you will have.	Those that are looking for cheaper contents insurance. This usually gives you cheaper insurance as students rarely have many bedrooms in their house or student halls.
Sum insured	A policy that requires you to calculate the amounts of the contents that you need covering.	For those that want specific items insured and don’t want to have to pay money for items that may not potentially be covered.
Unlimited sum insured	A policy that covers all of your contents without any limit, so you will always be covered and never uninsured.	Those that want to make sure everything is covered. This will be the most expensive insurance policy available as it covers everything in the house.

Permanent fixtures of the house are usually covered by building or home insurance.

What is personal possessions cover?

Personal Posessions Cover (PPC) (sometimes called an “all-risks extension”), this protects your personal belongings and your portable items while you're out of the house. Sometimes the policy can cover your items when you're abroad, however, this is something you will need to speak to your insurance company about.

The items usually covered by the PPC are:

• Cameras
• Computers
• Handbags
• iPods (or any other MP3 players)
• Jewellery
• Laptops
• Mobile phones
• Tablets
• Video games consoles

The items that are covered by the contents insurance policy you take out differ dependent on the company you take out the policy with. It is worth checking out what possessions are covered and which are not before you take the policy out however.

What is accidental damage?

Accidental damage is damage that happens as a result of non-deliberate or unexpected action. This is usually something that is a non-recurring action that result sin the damage or destruction of an object.

Not all insurance companies offer accidental damage cover for those that take out insurance and what constitutes as accidental damage will depend on the insurance company that you're with and whatever their policy on accidental damage is.

Contents insurance is insurance that pays for damage or for the loss of any possessions that are within the building.

Does contents insurance cover accidental damage?

It has been known for Home or Contents Insurance to cover accidental damage as part of their cover, but it is usually sold separately from the other two as an optional extra, likely increasing your premium if you take it out as well, which you should be aware of, especially if you're looking to save money.

The value of the items damaged can also factor into how the policy covers you as well. For instance, damage to high-end or expensive items may not be covered by accidental cover but may cover smaller items or problems.