Because students can often be careless with their possessions, and often live in shared and unsecure accommodation, you'd think you'd be hard pushed to find an insurer willing to cover their home contents.

But you'd be wrong, as many insurance companies are now keen to offer protection to students, with several of them now offering specially tailored student-only cover. Big insurers like the AA and Endsleigh were the first to offer such policies, and the sector is growing.

These companies are keen to meet the needs of students looking to protect their valuables, and because the sum total of the average student's home contents only comes to around ?3000 to ?8000, these policies tend to have much cheaper premiums. This is great news for cash-strapped students.

If more expensive items need to be protected ? mountain bikes, cameras, phones, laptops, sports equipment and musical instruments for example ? cover can be added to the student policy for a minimal cost. And students can obtain insurance whether they're living at home, in student halls, or in privately rented accommodation.

Not only can students insure there home contents, but you can also choose to insure your valuables while travelling to and from university or college? so if a valuable laptop or phone is dropped or stolen on route, you're covered.

Insurers also realise that many students will be flatsharing, which can be an unsecure environment, and that they will be unlikely to be living in accommodation that is fitted with the latest in burglar alarm technology. For this reason student insurance typically covers your possessions even in the case of a walk-in burglary, where windows or doors are unlocked.

It's really never been easier for students to obtain insurance, and never has insurance been so tailored to their needs. If you're a student thinking about home insurance, your best bet is to have a look online. Insurers tend to offer their best premiums there ? Endsleigh, the AA and the Co-op all offer online discounts of 15% or more for new home insurance customers.

The best thing to do is to draw up a list of all of your possessions, calculating the total value as closely as possible. Once you know how much cover you need, you can get online and start comparing policies and prices to find the best insurance deal for your student years.