Students 'have expensive clutter'

The average undergraduate student has more than £3,500 of belongings, yet 34 per cent have no home insurance to cover the cost of their possessions should they be lost, stolen or damaged, new research has found.

Sainsbury's Home Insurance notes that over 400,000 Britons are admitted to universities as new undergraduates each year - and many may find that flats to rent in Fulham, or other parts of London, with friends is cheaper than renting a house or buying a home.

And renting a flat could leave money over to buy insurance to cover costly belongings they bring with them from home, such as computers, cameras and mobile phones.

Such action may be particularly advisable, as Sainsbury's Home Insurance reveals student accommodation shared by four people could provide over a £14,000 haul for an opportunistic burglar.

Ben Tyte, Sainsbury's Home Insurance manager, said: "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."

Gas Safe Register recently advised that students moving into new accommodation should purchase a carbon monoxide alarm.

Written by Martyn Glynn

Published 21st September, 2009

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