The UK Insurance Blog

In the article “Home insurance could save the day this school holiday”  we are alerted to the fact our children’s school holidays could cost us a fortune.

Every time there is a school holiday, the house is at greater risk of a disaster occurring than any other time. Things get a bit wild, the kids lunge about and before you know it, your favourite Ming vase is a ‘gonna’!

The company ‘Sheila’s Wheels’ have looked into the subject and have discovered £0.5 billion worth of electrical item damage is caused by bored children in the UK during the school holidays. We should take heed of this and look seriously into our home contents insurance.

Twenty five per cent of children break or damage electrical equipment which adds up to £553 million paid out in the UK to replace these things or repair them. The average child will cause damage to the tune of £183. Over one in five mums and dads claimed on their home contents insurance because of the damage caused by their children. If you were wondering what articles get damaged the most, it would have to be digital cameras and laptops at the top of the lists.

The thing to do is to get adequate insurance for your possessions so you don’t have to come home to face a horrendous bill. Only a quarter of parents questioned said they would get their children to pay for the damage as a punishment so kids generally get off lightly it would seem!

In the event of damage during the school holidays, many parents are having to foot the bill themselves. Seventeen per cent of parents do not have any kind of insurance themselves preferring to foot the bill if and when disaster occurs.

Look out the schools have emptied out!. This is the main time when things get broken and someone has to face the music, according to the people at Sheila’s Wheels that is! If you have a family, the message is, don’t take any chances with your belongings. Store away your important valuables and create plenty of space for the children to play in.

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According to an interesting article in easier.com  about student thefts, nearly two million students will soon unwittingly become targets of thieves. This is a message going out to students as well as their parents.

Autumn, this year, universities in the United Kingdom will welcome one million six hundred thousand new students to their halls of residences. These students will have with them items with a collective value of at least one and a half thousand pounds which ought to be covered by an adequate insurance plan. If the unthinkable was to occur, insurance reimbursement will soften the blow.

According to esure, students are expected to bring with them favourite gadgets and toys of a considerable value. The message of the article was essentially to get adequate insurance cover in case of theft or loss.

I would think it extremely rare that any students out there do not possess at least an expensive mobile phone and a laptop. According to esure, at least 81 per cent of students will take with them to uni a mobile phone while 74% will be taking a laptop. With all the latest hi-tec valuables in your possession, it makes sense to exercise extra care especially when changing to some less familiar surroundings.

When packing for university, if you plan to include a laptop, a mobile, a games console, a camera or a DVD player because you can’t imagine life without them, you had better check out where you stand with your insurance.

The value of new clothes and jewellery can mount up too, especially if, according to demographic statistics by esure, you are a fashionable northerner. They anticipate that trendy students from the north will have packed a suitcase with an average of £600 worth of fashion items. Get it all insured!

If you are a parent of a ‘student-to-be’ and you haven’t even thought of getting insurance cover for your child’s valuables, don’t worry, you are not on your own. Twenty four percent of parents never even consider taking out insurance for their child’s possessions when they head off for university.

I guess, the overlying message is simple enough, that of to ‘be-ware and be sensible’. The trouble with high value gadgets, is that they tend to be small and pocket-sized. They can be stolen really easily and efficiently. For this reason, watch out who you let into your rooms, especially if a new friend has brought company in the shape of a complete stranger. You can’t have eyes everywhere so ensure your valuables are hidden well away from opportunistic attention. Or leave the really expensive valuables behind, at home, at least until you get to know your way round a bit better.