Why is insurance important for students?

When living in halls or private accommodation, students can amass a horde of expensive equipment.

Although many spend their student loans on shopping and day to day living, surprisingly, some spend out on alcohol and gadgetry.

It would be uncommon to walk into a man's dorm room at University and not find a PC, games console, mobile phone or iPod strewn in the mess of clothes and beer bottles. It would also be uncommon to find a girl's room minus a laptop, iPod and expensive hair products.

It is not difficult to work out why thieves may view digs as lucrative targets - to complete studies, a laptop or desktop computer is now viewed as an essential by most undergraduates.

Add this to expensive text books, music players, course equipment and clothes - and a room could be a veritable gold mine for a crook. It's not only halls of accomodation that are being targeted, as many students often occupy whole areas of estates surrounding a university, making every house a vunerable target while no one is in.

This means there is one student possession that could be worth far more than the paper it is printed on - insurance documents.

Many firms offer specialist, comprehensive products for students' belongings, so make sure you shop around to find the best deals.

This can cover items for things such as theft, accidental damage and freak occurrences such as burst water pipes in houses and halls. Some students consider this cover essential, as without a laptop to complete work they could easily fail their course.

Policies can vary between firms, however, so it can be important to check the small print and if there are any add-ons before putting pen to paper.

Many student houses are now fitted with secure locks for each room, but insurance companies still advise those at University to lock their doors, make sure all items are kept well hidden and out of sight, and to keep all valuables (jewelery, loose money, mobiles) secure either on your person or in a mini safe.

You can buy mini safes for as little as £50.

Students may also want to check if any – or some – of their possessions are covered under their parents' home policies, to ensure they do not end up paying for unnecessary insurance.