Why Purchase Student Contents Insurance?
So you’re at university and you’ve got yourself a nice flat full of good friends. What could possibly go wrong? Well, unfortunately, British university students suffer a great deal at the hands of opportunist thieves and burglars, so it’s well worth taking some precautions to ensure that your good times don’t turn sour.
Many believe that students present a soft target to Britain’s criminals, and it’s sad to say that this common conception can often turn out to be true. In 2007 Leeds University reported that almost 57 per cent of student burglaries took place through an open door or window. Statistics published by the Home Office in the same year showed that households comprising of people aged between 16 and 24 are the most targeted by burglars, making students more likely to be the victims of burglary (source: The Independent).
The Complete University Guide urges students “it is better to be safe than sorry”, and offers some very good reasons as to why prospective students should take crime figures into account when choosing a university, together with why they should consider taking out home contents insurance.
The Guide’s website says: “Students are seen as rich pickings by some petty criminals who can pretty well guarantee that you have a mobile phone, portable television, CD or DVD player, probably a laptop, digital camera or mp3, and maybe even a bike, a car or some designer gear. All are relatively easy to dispose of in the world they frequent.
“It is estimated that a third of students become victims of crime, mainly theft and burglary, but many could have been prevented. The trouble is most students are blissfully unaware of crime in our towns and cities until they fall prey to it. This is particularly true of freshers partying in their first few weeks at university who are not 'street-wise' about the local area.”
Statistics published by the Home Office in 2009 ranked Nottingham, Manchester and Liverpool as the least safe cities in the UK outside of London. The three-year rolling average number of burglaries per 1,000 people in Nottingham was as high as 21.2, while an average of 27.4 people in every 1,000 were the victims of any kind of crime in the city.
Many insurers offer student contents insurance policies that are tailored to the needs of university students.
Moneysupermarket.com reminds students that a single policy will not cover the entire household, saying: “Arranging contents cover for your personal possessions is your own responsibility as a person can only insure items that belong to them. This means that your landlord will have to take out separate insurance on any items in the house that don't belong to tenants.”
“Student possessions insurance is needed for everybody who lives in the house; this means each student living in the accommodation needs to take out their own individual policy.”
