There continues to be a growing interest in how schools manage the risks associated with the management of summer camps & conferences. This is a timely topic and one that GradGuard's renters insurance program helps to address.
In a recent ACUHO-I discussion, the question arose on how to design summer leases / contrcts.
Our recommendation is that the short-term summer
From a campus safety and risk management perspective, it is useful to consider protecting your institution from losses that result from short-term / summer residents by including an affordable renters insurance benefit as part of your summer lease. Generally, for less than $15.00 a month, a school can protect both the student and institution from financial losses.
Three issues to consider that are particularly relevant to short-term / summer program residents.
- Reduce Collections Issues - Schools may benefit from short-term residents have renters insurance and will benefit from the liability protection that may cover losses that result from unintentional damage caused by residents. Unlike full-time students where the institution has the leverage of preventing enrollment in the next term, short-term residents may have a legal obligation but often do not have the financial capacity to actually pay for damages they cause.
- Personal Property Loss - Campus thefts and burglaries don't end during summer months. If your school doesn't replace stolen or damaged property, it would be a valuable benefit to provide renters insurance to your short-term residents. From bicycles to backpacks, campus visitors and residents are often vulnerable to losses that may disrupt their campus experience.
- Affordable Benefit - GradGuard designed our
renters insurance program so that can be offered on a monthly basis. Generally offered between than $12.00 - 15.00 per month - a short-term resident may receive $5,000 of property protection and $50,000 of liability protection. Greater coverage options are available and often necessary for the international students orfaculty / staff your campus may serve.
Given the low cost of protection, it is a prudent idea to include renters insurance within the cost of summer housing. This $15.00 a month is well worth the coverage. At a minimum, schools are well served to verify that each student completes an electronic verification that they accept personal responsibility for losses and are provided the opportunity to easily enroll in a renters insurance program within the leasing process.