Contents Insurance Students Obtaining a Quote
During the 1990’s years, more and more young people have been given the opportunity to go to university. This has put huge pressures on student accommodation availability in popular student towns such as : Bath, Bristol, Oxford and London, among many others. Consequently the volume of claims on contents insurance policies, has naturally risen over that period. Despite ever rising student debt levels, it is ironic that UK students these days now possess more high-value personal portable possessions than students 20 years ago.
The increase in the volume and value of intrinsic items of students personal possessions, has been caused by a social change in attitudes towards debt – coupled with a social pressure to get the ‘must have latest gadget’. In addition the sheer volume of additional students now studying away from home, now means more student belongings need to be covered under some form of contents insurance. Virtually all students now have their own mobile phones and laptop computers – items which are inherently expensive to replace, easy to steal and frequently get broken and damaged.
Basic contents insurance for students protects their personal belongings both inside their student accommodation, as well as outside. In particular, policies can protect valuable items such as an iphone, laptops, glasses, bikes and books as well as other portable electrical equipment and clothing. Contents policies vary but typically are designed to cover for theft or loss of belongings against a range of perils. Accidental damage can usually be included although it may cost extra. Although many younger students don’t have many personal possessions of their own, (when compared to a typical family household) – most of the items they do have are very portable. This means there is a greater probability that personal possessions are taken with them, and so are less secure than items kept under lock and key inside a residential home. Small portable items are also very attractive to opportunist thieves.
Many students choose to ‘piggyback’ off their parents ordinary home insurance policy, by obtaining extended ‘cover away from home’ for a family member at school, college, or university. This will involve the parents’ contacting their home insurance company to add on their son or daughter onto their policy. One of the provisos of this extension, is that the student, normally lives at the main residence outside of term times. The insurance company will require the postal address including postcode of either the hall of residence or shared house in which the student is planning to move into. Some insurance companies do not offer this option as they view students as a ‘bad risk’. The average home insurance policy would not offer the option to extend cover a way from home ‘by default’, and it would be viewed as an additional and chargeable option. Contact you broker or insurance company to see if you can extend your standard home policy to include students contents.
Many students have never had to deal with insurance companies before leaving home, and so can’t be blamed for being unaware of the types of cover that are available, the situations which might lead to a claim and the small print contained in the policy wordings. Reading a key facts documents and policy booklet from cover to cover, may not be the top of many students reading lists’ but it is essential reading. Although there is not a large number of insurers offering student contents insurance policies, for the ones that do actively target the student market, there are a large number of prospective clients living away from home who may be interested in obtaining cover. Many specialist insurance brands have evolved to meet the needs of students.
Many universities’ own halls of residence are completely full. This means large numbers of students’ have to find accommodation nearby, in either shared housing or private rentals. Consequently there has been many buy to let that booms in student towns over the last decade. The security and safety in this part of the private rental sector is notoriously varied. In many towns, landlords have bought up many older properties and divided them up, to squeeze in three or four sharers. Any investment in additional window locks or door locks to protect the contents of the building, are completely at the discretion of the landlord. Many students also have bought their own bicycles to get to and from classes. At the bequest of many tenancy agreements, many of these bikes have to be kept outside, or in a shed or garage. The onus for securing these will be the practical responsibility of the student. Many policy wordings in this sector of the market, will have security requirements, its of paramount importance that these are studied and understood. If you would like to read our own policy on bicycle insurance you can do so.
One of the benefits of taking out a specific contents insurance policy design for a student, is that some policies offer additional liability covers. This means that in some rare situations, the student policyholder is protected if being sued by a third party. For instance if an accident occurred, involving a friend or other member of the shared house, in which it could be implied the policyholder was at fault – there may be insurance cover to settle any future claim or dispute. Public liability insurance for a student is usually provided as part of the core contents policy wording ,unless the type of policy purchased is to cover effects or electrical items only, if you require this cover , always check the contract wording before you buy.
For a Home Insurance Quote contact Assetsure. We are able to offer insurance for a wide range of Uk property types including nonstandard construction
