Old kids with new toys at home?
18/01/2008
With housing affordability continuing to worsen and adult children living at home for longer, SGIO is encouraging parents to check their insurance adequately covers the expensive toys belonging to their not-so-little girls and boys.
SGIO Product Manager Brad Warren said having older children still under the family roof with their own significant personal items is becoming more common in WA, and a serious concern in terms of potential underinsurance.
"House pricing is on the up, as are disposable incomes and retail spending. Building approvals and rental availability are both heading down, as such we're seeing older kids at home for longer and starting to accumulate expensive TVs, sound systems and computer equipment," he said.
"Often mum and dad overlook these items when they insure their contents, and with more than half of WA households not increasing their sum insured in the last 12 months,* this could set them back financially in the event of a claim."
Across Australia, research reveals underinsurance remains a problem with one in three households estimated to have inadequate cover.**
Mr Warren said as technology changes so quickly, adult children replaced their electronic goods faster than previous generations, with parents often not knowing the real cost of such items.
"Parents may struggle to keep up with the speed at which their kids acquire the latest and greatest devices, and may be deliberately shielded from the real cost of the goods."
"Even a few new items can change the value of your contents significantly, so updating the value of your sum insured helps ensure you have adequate cover. Make it a new year's resolution to sit down with your kids and work out in real dollars just what you all have," he said.
To help ensure your household has adequate home insurance cover:- Make a time to review your building and contents sum insured on a regular basis each year.
- Don't simply include electronic goods and appliances when calculating your sum insured - commonly overlooked contents include clothes, DVDs and CDs;
- Make sure the room your adult child lives in is properly secured, especially if it's a granny flat or freestanding room;
- Calculate the current replacement cost of all contents, not the amount you paid or its second hand value;
- Consider additional cover for items such as expensive jewellery or valuable art; and
- Visit www.sgio.com.au/homecalculators for a home building and contents calculator.
* Research based on a survey of Australian households by Woolcott Research on behalf of SGIO, October 2007.
** www.insurancecouncil.com.au