Now the new Univercity term is almost upon us, the sales of Laptops, Notebooks, Cameras, iPods and mobile phones reaches one of the biggest peaks of the year, comparable with pre Christmas sales, as students stock up with all the latest gadgets for their new adventure of leaving home for the first time as they head of to University.

Most students are now expected to own a laptop computer by the University as part of the course, whilst worrying parents insist on the departure of their children is accompanied by the latest mobile phone; a simple trick to make sure the parents can ring their child whenever they want to check they are safe!

A high percentage of new students will head for University halls of residence for the first year of the course. For most of the students, this will be the first real time they have left home and had to fend and finance for themselves, which for many, this will prove to be a learning curve to say the least.

As the new student will be away from home for the first time, along with hundreds of other students, excessive partying is part of the course. There will be plenty of occasions throughout the first year when things will get out of control, especially when alcohol has been involved with young adults who have just found freedom!

Going back ten or twenty years things were roughly the same, except without the modern gadgets like laptops, mobiles and iPods. So when partys continued in the halls of residence after the student bars had shut, but there was not the same sort of valuable items in the students rooms.

Today the value side of things is rather different, electronic devices can easily add up to £1500 and that’s on the budget side of the market. With all of the potential dangers to these products from excited, partying students, it may well be worth considering Laptop Insurance that will cover for accidental damage and theft, but make sure water damage is included, as with all the partys, a knocked over bottle of drink could easily destroy a new laptop in seconds!

Now you could check your home contents insurance, as many companies offer ‘an away from home’ type of cover for expensive items, if you consider this method you should be aware of the following two points. Know what the excess fee will be, as is often a lot higher than stand alone policies.  The second and important point that is worth knowing about is, if you make a claim on your home contents insurance, will you loose your no claims bonus? and or will the policy renewal premium sky rocket as you have made a claim?

When you make a claim on a stand alone policy the policy will often end after a claim, so you just take out a new policy at the same price.

Stand alone iPhone Insurance may well be worth a look at as well, but as with the Student Laptop Insurance, it is best to make sure water damage is included within the policy, as some insurance companies exclude water damage from the policy. This practise sounds a bit strange, but its just the way the insurance business works and manages their risks. So to get best value from stand alone insurance, check for water damage, as students will damage or destroy thousands of electronic items with spilt liquids in the coming year!

Thanks for reading, Dave Groom.

If your on your way to University or Collage this year and you have purchased a new Laptop or Notebook for your studies, its well worth considering Insuring it. If you will be living in rowdy accommodation halls with hundreds of fellow students and with all those late night party’s going on !

Water and Accidental Damage (or should we be thinking more along the alcohol damage line) are the 2 main reasons for Insurance Claims for damaged Laptops and Notebooks, yet many Insurance Company’s Exclude Water Damage. Check the Terms and Conditions Before you Buy, so you know just what you will be covered for.
It seems a bit cheeky that some laptop insurance companies would exclude water damage, but that is life and over time you will notice Insurance Companies rarely cover you for everything you think they might!

Can you imagine a high School with, let’s say 2000 students and just for an example, lets say each student has a laptop or notebook valued at £600. So now we have 2500 young students looking after over one million pounds worth of laptop and Notebook equipment!

Many people automatically assume that because they have purchased Laptop Insurance Cover they will be covered for loss, only to find when making a claim that loss was not included in the policy. Whilst some people find this out too late, others are aware they are not covered for loss, so they report the laptop as stolen so they can claim on their Laptop Insurance under the theft cover, this practise can then become insurance fraud, so its always good practice to check the terms and conditions of any insurance policy to make sure you will be covered for the loss of your laptop computer to protect yourself from this situation.