The University of Tennessee does not carry insurance on students’ or employees’ personal property and will not pay to replace them.

When making preparations for beginning your education at the University of Tennessee, we feel it is important for students to fully consider all of their property insurance needs, whether they live on or off campus. Occasionally, incidents such as fire, theft, flood, and other perils occur that may result in damage or loss of a student’s property. The most frequent causes of student property loss are theft and accidental damage (dropping, spilling liquids, and similar events). If this were to happen, your costs to repair or replace are out-of-pocket. Some parents choose to rely on homeowner’s insurance to cover such losses. Homeowner’s policies provide some coverage but generally do not cover “breakage” or accidental damage, and usually have high deductibles that effectively leave most student property losses unrecoverable. For these reasons, students are strongly encouraged to have a personal property insurance policy for their belongings while living away from home.

This coverage is also available for UT employees who may find it beneficial for items like personal laptops or smart devices.


If you decide to purchase insurance, there are a wide variety of companies and policies available. The University of Tennessee has made arrangements with one of our preferred brokers, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., to offer specialized student property protection insurance. Gallagher has created this property insurance plan for students living away from home. The coverage afforded by their policy is broader than most renter’s and homeowner’s insurance policies that are available in the insurance market. Special provisions and benefits of their policy include:

  • Replacement Cost Valuation
  • Flood and Earthquake Coverage
  • Low Deductibles starting at $25
  • Worldwide Coverage Territory
  • Limited Identity Theft Expense Coverage
  • Premiums as low as $69 annually

For a free instant quote or more information, click here.