Holly Byrnes:
Designer handbags
filled with expensive ‘essentials’ are now richer pickings for street thieves, police have warned.
With today’s typical handbag haul likely to include a mobile phone, iPod, expensive make-up and designer accessories, the cost of contents have soared into thousands of dollars and prompted insurers to offer special policies to cover their contents.
And the trend to tote oversized expensive designer handbags means stylish women are not only carrying more, but have more to lose. Police are already hunting a serial bag snatcher in Sydney after finding 4 handbags in a stolen car. Women are more vulnerable than men because of what they carry.
Account manager Lauren Meiklejohn, was ‘in shock’ when she tallied the $6000-plus value of her handbag and contents. ‘It’s crazy to think I carry that much but it’s pretty normal for most girls,’ she said.
The Insurance Council of Australia said handbags stolen in public were not normally covered under a standard home and contents policy. But the popularity of iPods has led to some offering coverage as an add-on to existing policies. The cost of insuring a bag and contents valued up to $7500 is $110 a year.
Subscribe 
