New Male Fashion Accessory Is Worrying Insurers
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The latest male fashion accessory is providing insurance companies with an unwelcome headache, it has been revealed.
The rise and rise of the 'man bag' has led to 13.8 million British men regularly carrying the item, with total content value estimated to be in the region of £4.4 billion.
Unconventionally, it appears that men now have more valuable items on their person than women.
According to LV= General Insurance, men carry contents worth £319 in their man bags, compared with the £255 carried around by women in the handbags.
As a result, LV= General Insurance's Andrew Beard is concerned that not enough British men are taking care to ensure that the possessions they carry with them on a day-to-day basis are fully insured.
"Man bags have quickly become a mainstream accessory, helping men lug around their ever more valuable stash of gadgets and personal effects," he commented.
"British men and women now routinely carry around more than £10 billion worth of possessions - not to mention the cost of the bags themselves and any cash carried.
"Although most household insurance providers offer some personal possessions cover away from the home, people should check their policies to see whether they require additional cover for valuable items such as laptops, gadgets and even expensive pens.
"Finally, men and women should try to stay safe by not displaying the contents of their bags to thieves."
The LV= General Insurance poll shows that the most popular items carried around by men and women in their respective bag versions are pens and mobile phones.
However, men are more likely to transport literature than their female counterparts, while MP3 players also prove popular.
Women, on the other hand, are more concerned with their appearance - cosmetics, perfume and sunglasses are high on their list of priorities.
Significantly, men have a higher propensity to laptop carrying than women, which is the main cause of the content value discrepancy.
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