SCHOOLCHILDREN CARRY VALUABLES WORTH £1.8 BILLION

A recent survey reported that schoolchildren are carrying items such as jewellery, games consoles, iPads and smartphones worth £1.8 billion every day! Away-from-home cover is not included as standard by all home insurance providers, so it’s important to take the time to check what protection you have.

Schoolchildren’s gadgets continue to climb in value too: research by uSwitch.com in August 2016 found that a child’s school bag now contains £219 worth of gadgets on average, with 13% carrying more than £500 worth of kit.

Many parents believe that their child’s possessions are covered under the same insurance policy as the family home, but this is not always the case when they leave home to study. The Chartered Insurance Institute has found that 6% of students have been victims of theft while at university and that 54% have no insurance for their possessions.

What parents can do

If you have children who take valuable possessions out of your home for study – at school or college – revisit your home insurance policy and make any necessary amendments, such as updating your cover with recent purchases of gadgets that your children use. And don’t forget to teach them the importance of storing costly items out of sight too!