Graduates returning home with more than just their washing

With thousands of graduates set to return home in the coming weeks, parents are being urged to consider reassessing their home insurance policies to cover any expensive items their sons and daughters might be returning with.

Many graduates will be making their way home to their parents rather than rent as a choice or as a result of financial constraints, but they will be bringing home with them potentially thousands of pounds worth of equipment.

Laptops, ipods, TVs and games consoles and are just some of the items that will be making the journey home with the students and parents should look at if they need to get greater contents insurance to cover these goods.

Grant Bather, spokesperson at Virgin Money, said: "Many students will have built up quite a collection of valuable items over the course of their degree. While some may have little monetary value, others such as laptops can be expensive and should be properly insured."

Virgin Money Home Contents Insurance covers home office equipment like a computer or printer. Up to £3,000 is also covered for download cover, so if your children have spent their student loans on itunes and the computer is damaged or stolen, as long as they have kept the receipt these can be claimed just as if they're CDs or DVDs.

Accidental damage to TV, video player, DVD player, hi-fi, cameras and games consoles is also included with Virgin Home Contents Insurance and there are no extra charges for paying your premium monthly.