Sainsbury's Contents Insurance offers cover for students

New research from Sainsbury's Home Insurance reveals that the typical undergraduate each has an average of £3,548 worth of belongings in their student accommodation. The high figure placed on the value of their belongings reflects 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.

Given that a student house with just four students provides more than £14,000 worth of rich pickings for any opportunist burglar, it is worrying that Sainsbury's Home Insurance has found that just one in three (34%) undergraduate students claims not to have their belongings covered by a home insurance policy, and a further 10% do not know whether they have cover or not. This means there is a total of around £573 million worth of uninsured belongings lying in student accommodation in the UK.

With the number of accepted applicants to UK universities having increased by 21% since 2003, there are estimated to be over 475,000 households in England and Wales who have students currently studying away from home. Sainsbury's Home Insurance urges parents with students away at university to check to see if their children's belongings would be covered in the event of loss or theft, or other events such as fire, smoke damage or flooding. Even though some halls of residence offer insurance cover as part of the accommodation fees, it is essential to check that the level of cover offered is sufficient. Sainsbury's Home Contents Insurance provides up to £5,000 cover for students of the household who are living away from home.

Ben Tyte, Sainsbury's Home Insurance Manager commented: "With an estimated one in three students falling victim to some sort of crime each year, it's worrying that so many students go off to university without any insurance cover in place for their possessions. However, before splashing out on insurance, students should certainly check to see if their parents' household contents insurance policy might provide cover whilst they're studying away from the family home, and also to check that this cover will be adequate should they need to make a claim."

As well as reviewing their home contents insurance needs, Sainsbury's Finance says students should also take steps to reduce their chances of becoming a victim of a burglary, and offers the following advice:

Make sure that windows and doors are properly locked when you go out

Ensure that all locks are adequate

If in shared accommodation, make sure that you have a lock for your room and use it when you go out

Mark your name and address on your belongings with an ultraviolet pen because if they are stolen and recovered by the Police, they should be able to return them to you

It's sensible to mark your property with the initials of your university (e.g. NU - Nottingham University) and your student ID number - this makes it harder for a burglar to sell stolen goods and can help the police to return items to you

Undergraduate students in universities in the South West region claim to have the most valuable belongings with an average of £5,122 per student. Students in South East universities have the lowest value, each having on average just £2,669 of belongings in total. Given the high cost of living for students in London, it is maybe not surprising that this group represents the highest percentage (48%) who claim not to have their belongings covered by a home insurance policy.