Taking out home insurance is a good idea even when living in student housing

When staying in your student apartment you should definitely consider taking out home insurance. This is because any damage to your personal property will have to be covered by you, should anything happen to it, and you do not have insurance. Home insurance not only covers any damages, but also gives you liability and legal cover. In fact, often liability costs far overrun any costs to personal property.

The tenant is responsible for damage to their own property even in student housing.

The landlord’s buildings insurance covers only damages to the building itself. If the damage is caused by the tenant, it may be that the insurance will not cover the damages at all, or perhaps only a part of the costs incurred. The excess is, however, always incurred from the person causing the damage. In the same way, any costs relating to an evacuation of tenants will be incurred from the person responsible for it.

Typical damages

Costs from water or fire damage can run up to the tens of thousands, the brunt of which the tenant may be responsible for. In the past years there have been many cases where a tenant or their guest has fallen asleep on the floor drain in the shower room, causing significant damage from flooding to their own and their neighbors’ apartments. In these cases repairs can take several weeks, during which the apartments are generally rendered uninhabitable. The buildings insurance does not cover the tenant’s or their neighbors’ evacuation costs during this period. The landlord will in these cases also collect the rent due from the evacuated apartments from the person liable for the damages.
Water damages can also be caused by brittle washing machine pipes, or from the incorrect installation of these machines. Washing machines should never be left to run unsupervised, and the tap should always be turned off after use.
Fires are caused by old electrical appliances, incorrect usage and by forgetting to turn off appliances.
It is advisable to check the correct functioning of your fire alarms regularly.