Most parents’ bank balances will be heaving a sigh of relief now the kids’ are back at school. Getting kitted out for a new school year can be costly: first up there’s the school uniform, and even with the supermarkets selling cut-price options, it can still be expensive if you’re restricted to buying school-branded items or blazers with logos.
But while you might not think of insuring your child’s school uniform, what about the more valuable items they pack into that school bag every day? Whereas once upon a time you might have had a pencil case and geometry set now we’re talking calculators, mobile phones, sports kit, even an MP3 player or Nintendo along with a musical instrument.
Yet with the contents of the average schoolbag worth around £250 around 50 per cent of parents don’t have adequate insurance for their kids’ possessions once they walk out of the door, according to AXA Insurance.
And with one in three kids losing items at school, or in some cases having them stolen, it can be costly if you’re constantly forking out for replacements.
What cover do you need?
Items at home are naturally covered under your contents insurance but once you take them outside the house, you’ll need cover for what insurers call “personal possessions away from home”. This add-on section covers the belongings of everyone in the house, regardless of their age, against loss, theft or damage. If you don’t have it this extra cover can usually be added to an existing policy for a small fee.
When it comes to the level of cover, most insurers have a typical single-article limit of £1,500 – this applies to insurers such as More Th>n and Churchill among others – and should be more than enough to cover any item being taken to school.
Bike cover
If your child rides a bike to school you may need additional home cover so check your policy before they ride off. Some insurers do include bikes in with the “personal possessions away from home” cover while others such as Axa insist you must have bikes listed individually under this section or they won’t be covered.
School trips
When it comes to school trips, while your child may have medical cover (if they’re going abroad) under a school policy, their belongings won’t be covered. So if they’re going on an organised ski trip or residential outward-bound style holiday check your policy for limits and any exclusions. In most cases, the duration of cover for items away from home can be up to sixty days, more than enough for the average school trip.
Watch out for the small print if you need to make a claim, though. Under the terms of most insurance policies any claim for loss, theft or damage should be reported immediately, which is not always practical if your child doesn’t realise what’s missing or is too upset to tell anyone.
Encourage them to tell a teacher if this happens: in the event of theft, they can organise a police report, which is usually necessarily when submitting a claim. Check your child’s belongings when they come home, as while insurers may consider claims retrospectively depending on the circumstances, it’s a good idea to submit any claim as soon as possible.
