Insuring your children's valuables when they're at school

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As the summer holidays finish, parents are being reminded to ensure the contents of their childrens' school bags are insured.

Children are now heading back to school armed with all the latest 'must haves' and 'hi-tech' gadgets, adding up to hundreds of pounds.

Gone are the days when a new pencil case and pair of trainers are considered exciting enough!

Most kids now have a mobile phone; many will also take their hand held games consoles as well as their iPods or MP3 players.

Don't take the risk

All of these valuable items are highly sort after and are at great risk of being damaged or, even worse, stolen.

Parents should check to see if their families' possessions are covered when they are temporarily outside the home under their existing home contents insurance.

This level of cover is not usually included in a standard home contents insurance policy, but you can opt to add 'personal possession cover away from the home', for which you pay an additional premium.

It's easy to underestimate the value of what your kids are carrying around with them.

Add up the replacement cost

Parents looking to get their kids' valuables insured outside the home should take the time to add up the replacement cost of each item that they might leave the house with.

Make sure you understand the ins and outs of the policy including the exclusions, the cover limits and the excess amounts. Also, make sure you know how to claim and what will affect your ability to claim.

Insurers set limits on the amount they will pay out for individual items so if your kids have really expensive gadgets, bikes, jewellery or rare objects, it's worth insuring them separately.

That way, any claim you make will not affect your 'no claims' status on your existing home insurance policy.

While having insurance gives you peace of mind that your kids' possessions are insured against loss, theft or damage when at school, the best way to avoid having to make a claim at all is to encourage them to leave their valuables at home.

If your kids do insist on taking items to school, parents should make sure they are aware that they must not leave their belongings unattended and always keep them safely locked away in a locker if they have one.

Don't forget about musical instruments. Learning a musical instrument at school is becoming more and more popular. Parents should be aware that even if their kid is borrowing an instrument from school they may need to make sure that it is insured.

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