In Britain, GBP 468 million worth of gadgets have been thrown in the bin in the past five years according to swiftcover.com.
Research of more than 2,000 UK adults revealed that more than 300 million gadgets – an average of six per person – worth £15bn, have been bought in the past five years; while a third (36 per cent) of Brits have bought six or more gadgets in this time. Furthermore, 1.6 million Brits have bought more than 21 gadgets since 2006, spending at least £1.5bn in the process.
With gadgets being updated so frequently – in some cases every six months, they are quickly superseded by new models. So much so that a third (35 per cent) of all gadgets bought in the past five years are no longer in use by the original owner, while 27 per cent of people use less than half of their purchases.
James Barclay, home insurance manager at swiftcover.com, said: “We’re most definitely a gadget nation and our thirst for the newest and the best is growing rapidly, apparently regardless of any financial restraints we currently have.”
Of those now not used, the location of 60 per cent of gadgets isn’t known by their owners. Furthermore, according to swiftcover.com 9.3 million gadgets worth at least £500 million have been discarded and thrown in the bin. Interestingly, recycling (19 per cent) or giving the gadget to friends or family (21 per cent) is common for gadget loving Brits while 16 per cent have resold their item to recoup costs or enable the purchase of new gizmos.
The research also highlighted differences between men and women: while 40 per cent of women choose to recycle or hand-down gadgets to friends or family, a third (31 per cent) of men preferred to sell or discard their unwanted gadgets.
Barclay continued: “The lifespan of a gadget is getting shorter and shorter as they are being replaced by more up to date and in many cases, more expensive models. Having the right insurance in place is essential otherwise the risk of losing thousands of pounds worth of gadgets and their content is very real.”
A third (29 per cent) of those who’d bought gadgets in the past five years assumed that their contents insurance covered all of their gadgets. More concerning was that 36 per cent of those surveyed said that they ‘hadn’t insured any gadgets’.
The research was commissioned for swiftcover.com’s home insurance product, which includes £500 cover for digital assets such as MP3s or films stored on a computer or digital media player, alongside competitive cover for gadgets and home entertainment systems.
Source : swiftcover.com
