For any student moving into new accommodation there are a thousand and one things to think about, not to mention the actual work that goes with being at university. With things like iPods, iPads, musical instruments and laptops all being hastily moved into accommodation, it’s little wonder that student households are often targets for burglars.
An additional problem is that many students decide to eschew home insurance altogether, primarily in order to save a few pennies. Whilst this might work out all right 9 out of 10 times, if you’re the odd one out it can be incredibly expensive, not to mention the fact that if someone steals your computer, all your university work will be gone with it.
Still, home insurance doesn’t have to be expensive, particularly with big providers such as Santander home insurance, fighting each other to attract as many customers as possible with things like online discounts and more flexible policies.
The key for any student is the ‘flexible’ part. Home insurance usually comes in two halves, there’s contents insurance (which is for everything that is removable) and buildings insurance (which is for the fabric of the building). Most landlords will have some form of buildings insurance, meaning you only need to worry about your contents.
However, an additional complication is that if you’re living with a bunch of other people, you don’t want your insurance premiums to reflect the value of their stuff (or their stupidity as far as things like leaving a window open goes). So being able to pick and choose your coverage is a good idea.
A good bit of advice is to work out what are your most expensive items, usually this will be a musical instrument or a computer (if you have a particularly valuable one). It’s worth trying to get these insured separately, because it can bring down the overall value of the insurance (notable items like computers are often viewed as a lure for thieves, so by removing them from the insurance you reduce the risk as well as the value of your insured items).
Another good tip is to not forget your clothes. Even if you don’t spend a lot of money on clothing, it’s almost certain that with a suit, some jeans and a couple of jackets your wardrobe could be worth well over £300. Make sure it’s listed on the insurance form just in case.
At the end of the day, not having insurance as a student is playing with fire, and it really doesn’t cost a whole lot of money. The best advice is simply to go and talk to someone at a local bank and get it all sorted out straight away, it could save you a lot more than just a bit of money.
By Santander Bank
Tags: home insurance
