With pupils recently returning to the classroom, Irish parents have already spent hundreds of euro kitting their children out for the new school year, but new analysis from OUTsurance suggests many of the most expensive items now heading out the door each morning are also among the easiest to lose to theft, and often the least protected.
Digital devices are now the single largest expense facing secondary school parents, with 57% of parents required to buy a laptop or tablet for their child at an average cost of €447 and some schools asking for devices costing as much as €850.
Combined with smartphones, bikes and musical instruments, many pupils are now leaving the house each morning with several hundred euro worth of easily-resold property in their schoolbag or on their bike rack.
The costly mistake on the school run:
OUTsurance is warning parents about a second, less-discussed risk: leaving these valuables visible inside a parked car during the school run, whether idling outside the school gates, parked while walking a younger child in, or left overnight on the drive.
Central Statistics Office figures show 7,796 thefts from vehicles were recorded in 2024, up from 7,351 in 2023 and thieves typically target cars where a laptop, phone or other valuables can be seen through the window, taking only seconds to steal them. Separately, Garda figures show bike theft peaks specifically in the July to October period, coinciding with the return to school season when bikes are most likely to be left locked outside school gates.
Ranking the most expensive back-to-school items to protect:
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School-issued or required laptop/tablet – average €447, up to €850 for higher-spec devices increasingly mandated by schools for project-based coursework.
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Smartphone – mid-to-high-range models typically run €600–€1,000+, and are now a near-universal item for secondary school pupils travelling to and from school independently.
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Bicycle – the average value of a stolen bike in Ireland is €500, according to Garda figures, with some school-run and commuter bikes worth considerably more.
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Musical instruments – required for school orchestras, bands and exams; entry-level instruments typically start in the low hundreds of euro, rising sharply for anything beyond a beginner model.
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Schoolbags, sports gear and incidentals – individually lower value, but often overlooked in home and car insurance cover entirely and commonly misplaced enough to rack up a hole in your pocket over time.
What does your home insurance policy actually cover?
It isn’t only about preventing theft. It’s also about knowing what’s actually covered if it happens anyway. Under a typical home insurance policy, laptops, tablets and mobile phones are treated differently from everyday contents: they must be individually specified on the policy schedule to be covered when out of the house, and are explicitly excluded from “unspecified” portable items cover. A school laptop or phone that was never added to the schedule may simply not be covered if it’s lost, stolen or damaged away from home, something many parents only discover when they try to claim.
The same principle applies to bikes. A bicycle is typically only covered for theft or attempted theft if it was securely locked or kept inside a building at the time, a bike left leaning unlocked outside the school gates for a few minutes would usually fall outside cover. Car-based theft cover is just as specific: loss from a parked car is generally only covered if every window, including the sunroof, and every door was locked, and the item was fully concealed in a closed compartment or the boot, meaning a phone or laptop left visible on a seat, even in a locked car, typically would not be covered.
Ian Kennedy at OUTsurance Ireland, said: “Every September we see the same pattern, parents spend a huge amount of money getting their children ready for the school year, then unknowingly leave that investment exposed. A laptop bag on the back seat, a phone on the dash while you run in to drop off a younger child, a bike left unlocked outside the gates for five minutes these are the moments thieves are waiting for.
“None of this takes long to fix. It’s about building a habit: take valuables with you, or lock them out of sight in the boot, every single time, even for a two-minute stop. And for bikes, a good quality lock secured to a fixed point is worth far more than the cost of the lock itself.
“We’d also encourage parents to check what their home and car insurance actually covers when it comes to school devices, bikes and instruments. As some policies have single-item limits that a laptop or a decent bike can easily exceed, which can come as an unwelcome surprise after a theft.”
OUTsurance’s tips for protecting back-to-school valuables
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Never leave valuables visible in a parked car even briefly. Stow bags, laptops and phones in the boot before you arrive, not after you park.
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Lock bikes to a fixed point with a quality D-lock, ideally in a visible, well-lit area, bike theft peaks during the July through October school-return period.
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Photograph and note serial numbers for laptops, tablets and instruments, so they’re easier to identify and report if stolen.
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Register bikes with a serial number scheme, which improves the chance of recovery if stolen.
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Avoid routine patterns where possible, such as always leaving a car unattended in the same spot at the same time each morning.
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Most Importantly – ensure everything is insured.
ABOUT OUTSURANCE: OUTsurance is an Irish-based insurance company, regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and located in Cherrywood, Dublin. They are rated 4.8 out of 5 based on 11,000+ reviews on Trustpilot as at 11/9/26. OUTsurance provide comprehensive, value-for-money car & home insurance to Irish consumers and is pioneering the concept of insurance cashback – the OUTbonus.
