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If you’re heading to university with a number of expensive possessions, then the best way to accident-proof yourself against any potential disasters is by taking out cover to protect your belongings. Read on to find out how getting yourself some cheap student contents insurance can save bucket loads of stress and cash while at uni.
Contents insurance does exactly what the name suggests – insuring possessions within your home in case of damage or loss.
Most items are covered by a general policy. These work by estimating the total value of contents in your room or house. If disaster strikes, then your insurer will pay you back the value of what your stuff is worth. Many student insurers provide additional cover for other eventualities, such as rent protection, tuition fees and lost keys.
What we love about contents insurance is that it isn’t even that expensive, with plenty of policies starting below the £3/month mark.
Below, we’ve explained some of the most common queries when it comes to contents insurance for students.
The finer details of this will depend on the insurance provider and policy you choose. With that being said, most policies will cover you against any damage or theft of your personal belongings that take place within your home. Items that are usually included are:
Most policies place a limit on how much you can claim for each item. You can avoid this by separately adding in your most valuable possessions. These items could include:
An insurance policy excess is the maximum amount that you agree to pay if you have to make a claim. This amount will be deducted from your payout if you do make a claim. For example, if your laptop is covered for £500 and your excess is £25, then you’ll get a payout of £475.
You can normally choose this excess. The higher the excess you agree to, the less your policy will cost. If you’re pretty good at looking after your belongings then it probably makes sense to get a higher excess. On the flip side, if you’re someone who’s constantly damaging their possessions (think – dropping your phone on a night out) then we’d recommend a much smaller excess.
High-value items like bikes and laptops often aren’t included in a contents insurance policy as standard. Instead, they have to be added on top of whatever the policy already costs. There are a couple of other things that can cause policies to be more expensive, such as accidental damage. Some policies cover this while others don’t – which is why you need to pay close attention when taking out a claim!
Your landlord is responsible for insuring the building you live in and any possessions they own. However, protecting any of your belongings is entirely your responsibility. Your landlord might have some kind of contents insurance policy themselves, but definitely don’t assume that this will cover any of your possessions!
There are a whole bunch of reasons as to why contents insurance for renters is such a great idea. Not only is it fairly inexpensive, but evidence suggests that the need is there, with figures showing that 36% of students have been the victim of robberies in a shared house or university halls (something which the writer of this article can highly relate to).
Students are often short on cash, and while the fees that come with contents insurance may seem like yet another expense, they’re nothing compared to the cost of having to replace all your belongings, especially expensive possessions like phones and TVs.
Before diving into contents insurance though, you should first check if you’re already covered. Some university halls offer a basic level of student insurance. It isn’t that well advertised though, which is why plenty of students don’t realise this is the case. This free insurance tends to cover a limited range of items that must be in your room, with doors and windows fully secured. If you’re staying in halls of residence, then get in touch to double-check if this is something that’s included.
You should also first check if you’re covered by your parents’ plan. Some policies cover students, provided they return home at least once within a set period of time. If this isn’t the case, then it’s worth asking your parents to call up and see if you can be added to their policy. There’s a good chance it’ll end up being cheaper than having you set up an entirely new policy.
There’s no fixed answer to this, given that the cost of your policy will depend on which provider you go with and what kind of policy you get. There are a few other factors that can also affect the cost, such as whether or not you’re living in halls and how many are in your house/flat.
As a general rule, we’d say that you should be able to find a solid contents insurance policy that covers all your needs at well under the £100/year mark. MoneySuperMarket data from July 2021 showed that the average annual cost of contents insurance for 20-24 year olds was £53.61.
You can use that figure as a guide to roughly know if you’re getting a good deal or not. If you’re quoted a price that’s way higher, then it’s probably worth looking elsewhere.
Here are some of the cheapest student contents insurance providers that we’d recommend taking a look at. What’s great is that lower costing policies don’t have to mean a compromise on flexibility or how much stuff you’re looking to protect.
Getsafe has created an online, app-based process that’s speedy and doesn’t require any physical paperwork. Their policies start from just £2.71 a month which is a drop in the ocean when you consider the amount of potential savings if disaster strikes and your belongings are damaged.
You can even get £15 welcome credit at Getsafe. Finding better value-for-money than this isn’t easy.
Protect Your Bubble and their policies are naturally suited to students and young people, as they offer the cheapest cover on individual gadgets. In general, the prices on offer here tend to be much cheaper than other companies. Insurance policies cover pretty much all you’d need, including theft and cracked phone screens.
Cover4insurance specialise in student insurance. Their most notable feature is “Walk In Theft” cover, which means that you don’t have to have a lock on your bedroom door for a claim to count. Their policies are nice and versatile, offering numerous options at different price points, depending on what and how much you’re looking to protect.
There are loads of ways to find cheap contents insurance and plenty of other methods for keeping your quotes as low as possible. Here are a handful of the best ways to find cheap student contents insurance.
You can also follow our student budgeting tips to help make your maintenance loan go that little bit further.
Don’t settle for the first deal you come across. Instead, shop around and get lots of quotes from lots of different contents insurance companies. One of the quickest ways to do this is by using a price comparison website like MoneySuperMarket. Taking a little extra time is the best way to ensure you get a good deal.
Once you’ve found the contents insurance company that’s perfect for you, don’t be afraid to try and drive the price down a little further. If you quote a lower price to a different company then you might find them fighting for your custom by offering an even better deal.
The majority of contents insurance providers offer their cheapest rates online. This is because online transactions can be done with minimum interaction and effort. Although, bear in mind that this makes haggling more difficult, so another idea is to save these quoted prices and then give the company a call to try and shave a little extra off!
What’s more, paying annually usually ends up getting you an overall cheaper quote than paying monthly would do. Insurers prefer upfront payments as they guarantee income.
Getting contents insurance doesn’t mean that you have to cover absolutely all of your possessions. Because policies covering fewer items tend to be cheaper, you should only insure what you value. A mobile phone on its last legs probably isn’t worth it.
Making a claim on your contents insurance policy will cause its price to increase. So, the more often you make claims, the more the price will rise. Some damage is unavoidable (and the exact reason why contents insurance is so useful), but other instances are completely avoidable. Lock your doors at night or when not in the house, and try to avoid clattering into your belongings when you’ve had too much to drink.
Building up a no-claims bonus will help you get cheaper deals in the future when it comes to renewing your policy.
The best way to avoid getting caught out and avoid any costly mistakes is by knowing your insurance policy inside and out. Before signing on the dotted line, read back over it and check exactly what is and isn’t covered.
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