With the average teenager in the UK spending around £54 per week, it’s not surprising that young people are adding £1.7 billion to the UK economy every single year. But whilst small spending (perhaps from part-time jobs or a weekly allowance) tends to focus on fashion, socialising and gaming, the larger investments (such as smart phones and laptops) are often supported by family members.
Despite some items being eye-wateringly expensive, these larger investments are often taken to school to allow children to participate in activities and get support with studies. But exactly how much do these belongings add up to? What would happen if they were to get lost, damaged or stolen whilst at school? And how can independent schools help protect students’ belongings? Let’s find out.
What value of belongings do students take to school?
We recently asked four independent school students about the types of belongings they take to school with them. Here’s the list they gave:
Student one
- iPhone XS Max - £992.47
- 2016 MacBook Pro - £919
- Apple Watch series 4 - £199.95
Total cost of belongings = £2,111.42*
Student two
- MacBook Pro (latest model) - £1,313
- iPhone 12 Pro Max - £1,049
- Apple Watch series 5 - £299
Total cost of belongings = £2,661*
Student three
- iPhone 7 - £188
- iPad Pro - £981.99
Total cost of belongings = £1,169.99*
Student four
- 2020 MacBook Air - £898
- iPhone XR - £499
Total cost of belongings = £1,397*
As you can see, these students’ belongings have a huge technology focus. The value of their things ranged from almost £900 to over £2,600. And that’s not even thinking about other possessions like bikes, musical instruments or sports equipment, which could easily ramp up costs by another £1,000 or so!
*Prices taken from new products on Amazon
What happens when a student’s belongings are lost, stolen or damaged at school?
The reality of something happening to a personal possession whilst a student is at school is that, unless the parents have insured their child’s items outside of their home address, not much can be done to replace those items without having to re-purchase them.
No one likes losing, damaging and needing to replace valuable items. But for school students, it can be particularly distressing for a few reasons.
If a student is taking expensive items to school, chances are, they need those items for academic reasons. Whether it’s a bike for school transport, a laptop for revision, or a guitar for their music practical, something bad happening to any of these items can cause instant panic due to potential impact on schoolwork.
There’s also a strong chance that if a school student has valuable items, they were purchased by family members. If this is the case, it’s not their own money in question if something were to happen to one of their belongings (for example, if they damaged their laptop). The item would need to be re-purchased, which is both a costly inconvenience to the parent and timely to the student.
What can independent schools do to help protect students’ belongings?
As we mentioned above, unless parents have insured their child’s belongings, not much can be done when it comes to replacing a lost, stolen or damaged item at school.
And even if parents do have insurance, sometimes it isn’t enough. For example, some house insurance policies may only provide cover at home, and other policies may not include key elements of cover such as accidental damage.
Independent schools can help both parents and students, plus add value to their offering by including cover for personal possessions within their independent schools insurance. Schools can customise their insurance packages for fee-payers, opting to include other key cover features such as personal accident and pupil absence insurance.
Opting for personal possessions insurance for students will make sure that your students’ belongings are covered for loss, theft and damage whilst at school and it even includes cover for high value items like bikes and laptops.
This level of cover provides parents with one less thing to worry about and also mitigates panic, prevents unnecessary spending and reduces stress for students should they damage, lose or get a belonging stolen.
It’s a win-win for everyone!
If you’d like to talk about student personal possessions insurance for your independent school, arrange a call with one of our friendly team today.