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Picking an insurance company with which to get student insurance is not an easy task. There are many companies, all offering you “the best deal”, but which do you pick? It’s all too easy to just pick one quickly and fill out the shortest form, in the rush to prepare for university (especially as a Fresher). But at 3am, when, after a night in the Union bar, you drop your mobile phone down the toilet, or you realise your keys could be anywhere, from that first bar, to the kebab van, back to the (locked) bedroom which you are now stood outside, who’s going to be the most useful? The problems in writing this review, I quickly realised, are that everyone wants to take different things to university, and that there are so many insurance companies its impossible to look at them all, so my musings are based on a survey of about 10 different firms, varying from banks to specialist companies. If you want to take a special/unique item to university, I’m afraid you’ll need to get a specific quote on that, which will significantly affect the cost. It also means that I will talk only in general terms in terms of cost, but I will instead look at which company offers the most useful service, for the average student. The National Union of Students (NUS) recommends Endsleigh to insure your goods. It has branches on many campuses, and for those cities that don’t have a campus branch, more often than not there is a branch in the nearby city or town. This is something that, of course, most banks that offer student insurance can also provide, and it is very handy - it’s much nicer to talk to a person than an answer phone. In terms of cost, Endsleigh won’t be the cheapest you’ll find (though it is certainly not the most expensive - from my experience, that tends to be the banks), but I think that Endsleigh is a worthwhile trade-off: inside its standard price are a lot of things that most other insurance companies will charge extra for: for example, desktop computers are included as standard, as are DVDs and CDs. A lot of companies will make you pay more to insure these things, bringing up the overall price. Endsleigh also adds in free insurance for the vacation as long as you’re in halls (though you have to pay extra once in private accommodation). Endsleigh also adds some nice touches, that aren’t matched by other companies: for example, for an extra £35-40 a year, you can insure your mobile phone. This compares quite favourably to mobile phone networks and their insurers, who may charge you £5 a month or more. In addition, and something that I must confess to have used (you think I made up the mobile phone in the toilet story?), they will also cover for accidental damage, though I was forced to pay a slight excess (about £30). Much cheaper than a brand new phone; many insurers would have refused to pay up given the circumstances. Endsleigh also provides a 24-hour helpline, not just for help with insurance matters, but also with debt, contraception, housing, health… things it can be hard to get advice on elsewhere. Of all the insurance companies offering student policies, Endsleigh is the only firm to offer this. Talking of excess, that is something to be careful of. Many of the cheaper insurance companies make their offers so cheap by having quite a substantial excess: for those of use not knowledgeable about insurance, that’s the first however much of the claim that the insurance company insists you pay yourself, and is generally an unavoidable pain. This is a great short term way to save money, but ultimately prevents you making claims for smaller items, as you end up losing all the money to your excess. Generally the Endsleigh excess is £10-25, and some insurance companies make it as high as £75. I think it’s quite clear to see why Endsleigh has been recommended by the NUS: whilst you may pay slightly more than other companies, it includes many things that you would otherwise have to pay extra for, such as computer cover, and the Endsleigh excess is much lower than most of the other companies; it also allows you to insure your mobile phone at one of the cheapest rates in the market. In addition, it provides a unique service in that Endsleigh has a 24-hour helpline (useful at 3am) for matters not directly related to insurance. These are all things that, when starting at university and with other things on your mind, you may not think of: when the time comes though, you’ll be glad you have them.
Staff editor, Insurance Section, January 2007 |
