Nasty awakening for uninsured students

Careless students relying on their parents’ home insurance to cover phones and laptops are in for a nasty awakening, a survey carried out by Endsleigh and the NUS suggests.

The student specialists say strings attached to home cover mean claiming for personal valuables lost or damaged at uni is almost pointless.

That’s because excesses and no-claims bonuses on home insurance usually make it too expensive to claim for a phone dropped down the loo or a laptop stolen in the library.

Sara Newell, Manager of Student Markets at Endsleigh, told The Tab: “We’d always encourage students not to leave it to chance, or even assume they’re covered by their parents’ policy, as these policies won’t necessarily insure you for loss outside of your room, or for accidental damage, and may have other exceptions hidden in the small print as well.”

In fact, more often than not, parents’ policies do not insure students for loss or damage on the move. Even items stolen from halls of residence or shared houses are not covered unless there is a lock on the bedroom door and there is evidence of forced entry.

The survey also found:

• Students are 60% more likely to make a claim than anyone else.
• The average student takes £2,000 of belongings to Uni, carrying £337 around with them at any one time.
• One in five students have their computer broken, stolen or lost.

Ms Newell said: “Our research shows that, as technology improves and gadgets become more and more multi-functional, students are relying on just a few portable devices both for work and play.

“From listening to music, watching films and taking photos, to using these gadgets for reading text books digitally, or making lecture notes, these high-tech devices have become an everyday part of student life.

“That’s why it’s so important that students take care of these expensive items, especially when they’re out and about, and have insurance specifically tailored to their needs.”

Despite this, one in five of the 2,072 students surveyed did not even know whether they were covered by an insurance policy at all.