Students with more than £3,500 worth of belongings

23rd September 09.

I came across a Sainsbury's press release yesterday entitled " Average undergraduate has more than £3,500 worth of belongings in student digs" and what is worrying that according to the release 34 per cent - or one in three students does not have any home insurance!

The average student’s typical possessions, which includes not just high-tech items such as laptops, computers, iPods, DVD players, digital cameras, TVs and Hi-Fis, mobile phones, but also other expensive items including jewellery, sports equipment, course textbooks and bicycles, as well as the more mundane everyday items such as books, CDs, toasters and kettles. It does seem crazy that they are not getting these insured, but probably to the average student, many are away from home for the first time and unless their parents arrange cover they won't even think of it.

They probably think that it will "never happen to me" until there is a burglary and then realise that they have to replace those possessions, a student house with just four students provides more than £14,000 worth of rich pickings for any opportunist burglar.

jml Property Insurance.co.uk has been acting as "Introducer" agents for specialist tenant and landlord insurance providers like HomeLet, Endsleigh, Letsure, Rentguard and Rentshield Direct for a number of years. (As an introducer they can only re-direct a prospective purchaser of an insurance product to the main provider's website and cannot give quotes or advice, deal with enquiries etc).

These insurance providers don't charge a lot for insurance for tenants (including students in halls of residence or shared houses) and it is really more and more important as students acquire more possessions to take out insurance.

Sainsbury's Home Insurance did the research, there supermarket in High Wycombe has recently been re-built to a high standard opposite the new Eden Shopping Centre in High Wycombe. No doubt they will be attracting a lot of custom from BNU (Bucks New University) students for their food in the brand new Hughenden Park Student Village and existing Brook Street Halls of Residence. What is more just a short distance away is the brand new "The Gateway" campus development in the centre of High Wycombe which is a high-tech learning resource centre with a sports hall, gym, dance, music and drama studios, as well as the library and meeting rooms.

So whether you are a student in High Wycombe or Hull make sure you take out adequate insurance. There is a Student section on the jml insurance website HERE