Students urged to insure phones, laptops and other gadgets

Students in the UK keep over £3.3 billion worth of possessions in their digs but over £1.7 billion of it is uninsured, according to new research from Santander Student Current Accounts.

The shocking figures reveal the true extent of underinsurance amongst undergraduates and show why students are such a popular target for thieves. The average student keeps £2,076 worth of goods in their student digs but just over half - around £1,100 worth - of these are not covered by insurance.

Aside from clothes, mobile phones and laptops are the most popular student possessions. Almost every single student (99.8 per cent) said they have a mobile at university with an average value of £152.13, while 94 per cent of students own a laptop or an iPad, at an average value of £515.41.

The research reveals that there are around 1.6 million mobile phones, 1.5 million laptops, 1.3 million MP3 players and 1.3 million cameras lying around in student digs in the UK. Yet four in five students (79 per cent) are not fully covered, and one in three (30 per cent) have no cover for these possessions at all. On average only 47 per cent of possessions are insured by students.

Helen Bierton, Head of Santander Current Accounts, said: "Students take an increasing number of mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets to university which can be very expensive, yet a large proportion of them still don't take adequate precautions by ensuring their possessions are insured. Indeed, many assume that they are covered by their parents' home insurance when they move away to university but this isn't always the case and therefore students should check to see exactly what cover they may have.

"It doesn't have to be a hassle for students to make sure their valuables are insured. Santander's Student Current Account includes mobile, gadget and laptop insurance worth over £240 a year, so students can look after their bank account requirements and cover their most prized possessions at the same time."

Santander offers a Student Current Account to support students while they study, offering an interest-free overdraft of up to £2,000 and a range of other benefits including mobile, gadget and laptop insurance worth over £240 a year for up to three years. The account also pays in-credit interest of two per cent on balances of up to £500, to support students at times when they have money coming in and are in credit.