Georgetown University Delivers Peace of Mind with GradGuard’s Renters Insurance Program within the StarRez Portal

When families send a student to Georgetown University, they entrust the institution with more than a housing assignment. They expect clarity about risk, coverage, and the what-ifs of campus life. Georgetown’s Housing team, a long-time StarRez customer, met those expectations by integrating GradGuard’s Renters Insurance Program directly into the StarRez student portal. The result is a simple, low-maintenance experience that offers families peace of mind while reinforcing Georgetown’s commitment to student success. This case study details why Georgetown chose GradGuard, how the university implemented it through StarRez, and the outcomes for students, families, and staff.

The Challenge: Clear Risk Management Without Complexity

Georgetown’s risk management team fields a very specific question over and over again. As Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst at Georgetown University, explains, “the number one question that the students would always get asked is, do you have renters insurance?”

Prior to partnering with GradGuard, Georgetown did not have a consistent, institution-level way to help students and families address that question.

That gap mattered. “The university liability is really limited, and the student and/or their family can be on the hook financially,” Tony says. Without a clear path for coverage, families were left to navigate an unfamiliar insurance market on their own, often after a stressful incident.

At the same time, Georgetown’s housing team was dealing with the broader realities of modern campus operations, including higher expectations from students, hybrid work patterns among staff, and the need to automate routine tasks to free up time for high-touch student support. Any solution had to be simple, reliable, and tightly integrated with existing workflows.

Why GradGuard + StarRez

Georgetown had already trusted StarRez for eight years by the time the university looked to add renters insurance as part of the housing experience. That trust mattered because the team wanted any new capability to live inside a system students and staff already knew. GradGuard fit perfectly. It is designed specifically for higher education and plugs into the exact steps students take during the housing process. That means consistent visibility for coverage at the precise moment families are thinking about rooms, belongings, and what could go wrong.

“The GradGuard Renters Insurance Program allows us to offer the students and their families peace of mind. We like that we're able to offer this option for students, so that they can be covered in case anything would happen in their room during the academic year that would require financial reimbursement.”

- Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst, Georgetown University

The combination also matched Georgetown’s operating philosophy: automate the essentials so staff can spend more time with students. StarRez provides the flexibility and data flows to make that happen. Tony has seen this power in other projects as well, including a rapid implementation of an electronic lock system.

Implementation: One Page, Zero Maintenance

Georgetown’s team implemented GradGuard within the StarRez portal as part of the standard housing application. The approach was straightforward:

1. Add the GradGuard information and enrollment step to the existing application pages in StarRez

2. Keep the workflow familiar for students and families

3. Make administrative overhead essentially nonexistent

“We implemented the GradGuard Renters Insurance Program into the StarRez portal and it was a very, very easy process.”

- Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst, Georgetown University

The operational footprint has stayed minimal. And because the GradGuard step is presented in context, right where students already are, families can make an informed decision quickly. There is no need for separate portals or manual follow-ups. The process stays clean, accurate, and repeatable, term after term.

“It has taken zero maintenance. We just use the same page over and over. It is attached to the housing application that students fill out.”

- Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst, Georgetown University

Peace of Mind for Families, Time Back for Staff

For Georgetown students and their families, the biggest win is clarity. Students are presented with a trusted option for renters insurance at exactly the moment they need it. The benefit becomes even more tangible when viewed through the lens of a parent or guardian. Tony experienced this personally when his daughter went through housing at another university.

For housing and risk teams, embedding GradGuard within StarRez eliminated ad-hoc emails and case-by-case risk conversations. The risk team’s top question now has a consistent, student-friendly answer, and housing staff spend less time reminding families about coverage. This is exactly the kind of automation Georgetown seeks, so teams can invest more energy in student relationships, not repetitive admin.

“I like that the GradGuard Renters Insurance Program is a very easy and hands-off benefit for the university to offer.”

- Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst, Georgetown University

For IT and operations, StarRez’s flexibility keeps the technical lift low and the integration stable. The same page can be reused each cycle, and the end-to-end flow sits inside Georgetown’s existing systems. That stability is crucial for lean teams, especially in environments where staffing and expectations evolve quickly.

The StarRez Community Advantage

Georgetown’s positive experience with GradGuard sits within a wider story about StarRez value. Tony has spent most of his professional life in tech support and software-enabled roles. That background makes his assessment of the StarRez ecosystem even more striking.

“I've been in tech support for better part of 30 years... and there's just no comparison to StarRez. The level of partnership that we receive from the company and the user community is head and shoulders above anything else that I've used before.”

- Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst, Georgetown University

That community is more than a benefit during problem-solving; it accelerates discovery. From fellow community members at StarRez Global Connect, Tony routinely uncovers new capabilities that open doors back on campus. He recalls learning about the Incidents module and immediately planning a discussion with campus partners who would benefit. This ongoing exchange of ideas helps Georgetown keep its housing tech stack aligned with real-world needs.

A Parent’s Perspective, A Professional’s Confidence

One of the most compelling proofs of value is when a solution resonates both professionally and personally. In fact, Tony described helping his own daughter navigate a separate university’s StarRez-powered housing application.

“During the housing application process, I was helping my daughter go through the various pages, and sure enough, the university that she's at offers GradGuard. As a parent, it was an absolute no brainer decision.”

- Tony Kollath, Automation Analyst, Georgetown University

That personal experience mirrors what Georgetown families now see: a clear, trustworthy path to coverage right when it matters.

How to Offer Renters Insurance Through Your Housing Portal

For universities evaluating how to address renters insurance in a way that is student-centered and sustainable for staff, the GradGuard + StarRez integration delivers a win-win: families gain peace of mind, and staff gain a low-touch, high-impact enhancement to the housing journey.

If you’re already using StarRez, you’re closer than you think to providing campus-wide renters insurance with GradGuard. Talk to a StarRez representative about adding a GradGuard step to your application flow or learn more about how institutions like Georgetown have implemented this in days, not months, and without ongoing maintenance.