Student contents insurance
Cover loss, theft and damage plus 24hr mobile phone & laptop replacement.
Musical instrument insurance
Cover your instruments and accessories up to £10,000, in the UK and overseas.
Bicycle insurance
Up to £1,500 bike insurance cover for your bike and all fixed accessories.
International students' medical insurance
International students' medical insurance provides cover for: cutting short, cancelling or repeating your course due to accident, illness or sickness; the cost of bringing a relative to the UK to visit you following a medical emergency; medical costs which are not covered by the NHS; and, should you accidentally injure someone or damage their property, legal liability cover to pay damages.
Student insurance guide
Student contents insurance can protect your possessions and provide you with valuable peace of mind, regardless of whether you are in your first or final year of studies. So while buying insurance may seem dull, it's one of most sensible investments you can make as a student.Read our student insurance guide to decide if student contents insurance is right for you.
Our preferred provider
We'd like to introduce Endsleigh*, our preferred provider for student insurance. Endsleigh is the UK's leading student insurance provider and is the sole insurance provider recommended by the National Union of Students (NUS).
Student insurance explained
Starting university is exciting but it can be a daunting experience, too. With so much of your focus on meeting new friends, surviving Freshers' Week, starting your studies or simply finding your way around a new city, protecting your belongings might not be top of your list of priorities.
However, if you take just a minute or two to think about the things you own, and in many cases rely upon, such as your laptop, mobile phone, TV, clothes, iPod or camera, the value is probably greater than you think. So while buying insurance may seem dull, it's one of the most sensible investments you can make as a student, particularly since young people in the 16-24 age group are three times more likely to be victims of burglary and one in every three students becomes a victim of crime (source: Home Office Report ‘Crime in England and Wales 2007/2008’).So what is student insurance and why do I need it?
Some students are under the impression that their belongings are covered under their parents' home insurance, but this is often not the case and even where cover is available it will usually be restricted. As a result, standalone student contents insurance policies are available to protect against loss or damage caused by risks such as theft, fire, vandalism, storm, flood and burst pipes.
With the average student now owning over £4,000 worth of belongings (Source: Endsleigh Student Possession Research 2008) student contents insurance can provide you with valuable peace of mind, regardless of whether you are in your first or final year of studies. Although insurance won’t make the loss, theft or damage of your belongings any less upsetting, it will ease the financial strain of replacing them.
Getting the right student contents insurance
The most important aspect of finding the right student insurance policy is ensuring that it provides suitable cover for your lifestyle. Always check the small print of the policies you're interested in to ensure they provide suitable cover for your needs. You may be living in shared accommodation or halls of residence but some student insurance policies will not cover ‘walk in theft’ (burglary without forced entry), and other policies may not cover pedal cycles or musical instruments as standard, for example.
Some insurance companies will offer flexible cover options so that you can pick and mix your cover depending on what you need - meaning you often have the option to insure one item, a selection of items or the contents of your whole room. To ensure you have an adequate amount of cover check the policy terms for item cover limits, any ‘total valuables’ limits (the maximum you can claim for multiple items), the excess (the amount you have to contribute in the event of a claim) and any exclusions (items or risks that are not covered).
Remember to check the period of insurance too, as your policy may cover your possessions during term time only and should you need cover to continue during holiday periods then you will need to speak to your insurer to arrange this.
Depending on the insurance company, other policy benefits may include a 24 hour student helpline, legal expenses cover, cover for course fees should you be deregistered due to death, illness or accident and accidental damage cover.
Tips to keep you and your belongings safe
There are a few basic things you can do to minimise the risk of your belongings being stolen:
Lock windows and doors when you go out and if you live on the ground floor consider closing the blinds when you're not home to protect your belongings from prying eyes.
If you are living in halls of residence be careful who you let in, or who comes in after you, as they may not necessarily be a student.
Don't leave your valuables on display in your home or car, it simply offers encouragement to thieves.
Register your valuables on www.immobilise.co.uk† so if they're recovered they can be traced back to you.
Don't keep more cash on the premises than is absolutely necessary and never keep your PIN codes with your cards.
