Your laptop is probably right up there with your smartphone in the list of items you absolutely cannot live without. For many of us, a laptop is now the primary tool we use for our work. And with the growth in popularity of BYOD schemes - as in, Bring Your Own Device to the office - it’s not as if we can simply rely on our employers to bail us out if something goes wrong.

Aha, you say - but isn’t my laptop covered by my home contents insurance should the worst happen? Possibly, and you may well have chosen to sign up for an opt-in extra that adds your laptop to your home policy. However, very good arguments can still be made for buying standalone insurance for your device. Here are five reasons why.

Lower excess

If you make a claim for a damaged laptop on your home insurance, your claim will be subject to the standard excess on your policy. In the case of an older, lower value laptop, this might be more than the laptop is actually worth, or certainly more than the repair costs. With a dedicated laptop policy, you will get an excess that reflects the value of the device, and often get repairs thrown in, too. At Row.co.uk, we include unlimited repairs in our laptop cover.

Higher payout caps

Particularly if you have recently upgraded your laptop to a brand spanking new, top of the range beast of a machine, you may find that your existing home insurance caps payouts well below what the device is worth. If you are going to insure your laptop, you might as well get covered for its full value.

Be covered everywhere

Depending on the specific policy, some home insurance does cover contents that are damaged, lost or stolen out of the home. But this is not universal, and in most cases it will certainly not protect your laptop for overseas trips. With a standalone laptop policy like those we offer, you don’t have to worry - you are covered for damage, breakdown, theft and loss wherever you are, home or abroad.

Protect your home premium

In truth, home contents insurance is not really designed to cover individual items. You pay your premium to cover everything you own against catastrophic loss caused by burglary, flooding, fire and so on. As with any insurance, making a claim will bump up your premium. What you have to ask yourself is, for the sake of one little laptop breaking down, is it worth the whole of your contents insurance becoming more expensive? For what it costs extra, you are often better off with standalone insurance.

Enjoy the perks

The laptop insurance we offer at Row.co.uk comes with a number of special little perks that you will only get with a dedicated policy. We have already mentioned unlimited repairs - we also offer a 24 hour replacement service for your device, once your claim has been approved. That’s the kind of service you get when you go with a specialist.

You can read more about our laptop policies, starting from just £1.49, here.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.

Our latest survey has found that one in six parents regret giving their children a mobile phone or tablet.

The research also revealed that almost a third of parents believe their child spends too much time using their devices.

We conducted a survey which asked British parents if they’ve ever regretted buying gadgets for their children, and how devices have affected their offspring’s life.

Our research revealed that more than half of parents surveyed admitted a device has had a negative effect on their child’s willingness to participate in physical activity. 39% said it had a negative effect on their willingness to socialise.

A third of parents also found their child to be more argumentative, had a lower attention span and received a lesser quality of sleep since the introduction of these gadgets.

Yet despite this, almost 50% said the tech has improved their child's creativity and over a third said it had increased their happiness.

The survey also highlighted that almost a third of parents said they typically ban their child from using the devices at least once a week, with 5% saying they have to remove the items once a day – resulting in tears, tantrums and one parent even comparing the reaction to that of an addict.

Data released by Ofcom in November 2015 revealed that 75% of 5-15 year olds own a tablet, as well as 53% of 3-4 year olds.

In terms of how much time is spent using gadgets, our survey showed that children spend an average of 4 hours on their mobile and 4 and a half hours on their tablets each week.

Parents also estimated that their children spend six and a half hours a week watching television, although only 18% of parents think this is too much, compared to 29% who think their child uses their tablet too much.

Over 10% have found their child using the device to listen to inappropriate music or playing inappropriate games.

6% claimed to have discovered their children using the devices to view pornography.

Gadgets have become a huge part of our lives, and over the last decade we’ve seen our dependency on electronics steadily increase. While technology is a big part of education for children, it is important that they feel safe and supported in their gadget use.

Ensuring that parental controls are activated, and capping the amount of time spent using gadgets every week are just two ways parents can make sure their children are safely using their devices. Teaching our children about internet safety and how we should conduct ourselves online is also a good way to increase your son or daughter’s awareness about secure internet use.

*The information in this blog is designed to provide helpful information on the subjects discussed. Please seek a professional for expert advice as we can not be held responsible for any damages or negative consequences upon following this information.