Teenagers' treasure troves

Britain's teenagers are hoarding a staggering £20 billion¹ worth of gear in their bedrooms.

New research from esure home insurance shows that the average youngster shuts themselves away with over £5,000 worth of gadgets, clothing, toys and furniture.

Electrical items such as games consoles and televisions bump up the value of a kid's bedroom considerably - with each room containing at least £700 worth of technology on average. Two fifths (40 per cent) of teenagers have a CD player in their bedroom and six per cent have over 200 CDs.

DVD players are also becoming more and more popular, with over half (51 per cent) of kids having one in their bedroom and nearly one in five (18 per cent) owning over 50 DVDs.

It's not just games and gadgets that tot up the value of a youngsters bedroom, it's also what's hanging up in their wardrobes. One in eight (13 per cent) teenagers have over £2,000 worth of gear in their wardrobe as they try to keep up with the latest fashion and trends. One in ten youngsters own over 30 pairs of shoes and a shocking four per cent wear over £1,000 worth of jewellery and accessories.

Parents have also invested in nearly £1,000 worth of furniture for their kid's bedrooms which is a huge amount of money to spend on just the basics.

Thinking about all that's contained in a child's bedroom, it isn't a shock to hear that three fifths (59 per cent) of parents polled say their teenagers spend the majority of their time at home in their bedroom. And when friends come round, 74 per cent hot foot it upstairs to have more privacy away from the rest of the household.

More than half (54 per cent) of parents surveyed claim that their child's bedroom is worth far more than theirs, and 39 per cent would go so far as to say it is the most expensive room in the house.

Mike Pickard, Head of Risk and Underwriting at esure home insurance, said: "Most teenagers want to keep up with their friends by having all of the latest must-have gadgets and designer gear, so it isn't surprising that their bedrooms are turning into Aladdin's caves with hefty price tags to boot.

For many parents, their teenager’s rooms can be 'no go' areas but it's vital for them to take into account the value of contents in every room of the house to ensure they’re not left under-insured. It's amazing how a son or daughter keeping up with the latest fads can considerably up the value of a family's belongings."

**Contents of a teenager's bedroom**
	£
Furniture	969.03
Wardrobe contents	1,080.59
Toys	776.80
Books	218.66
CDs	248.28
Computer games	430.35
DVDs	248.53
Jewellery / accessories	303.01
Shoes	241.94
Television	149.99
DVD player	64.99
Games console	199.99
MP3 player	175.00
Mobile phone	150.00
Total	2,116.73

-ends-

esure's press contacts:

Emma Lloyd, Assistant Communications Officer: 01737 641309
Niki Bolton, Corporate Communications Manager: 01737 235070
Asia Yasir, Public Relations Officer: 01737 641305
Adrian Webb, Head of Corporate Communications: 01737 641000
Email: pr@esure.com
An ISDN line is available for radio interviews.

Notes to Editors:

SWNS conducted an online research survey via Onepoll which interviewed a random sample of 3,000 parents between 14th - 18th December 2009.
Calculation: 3,796,600 (number of teenagers in Britain) x £5,257.16 (Cost of contents in a teenagers bedroom) = £19,959,333,656. (Source: UK National Statistics - www.statistics.gov.uk).

About esure:

esure was launched in 2001. The company offers car, home, pet and travel insurance over the internet and by phone. esure also offers car insurance cover through the brands Halifax, Sainsbury's, Sheilas' Wheels and more recently home insurance through the Sheilas' Wheels brand.