Laptop insurance and your peace of mind
Why should you bother with laptop insurance?
It's a perfectly reasonable question - given that you probably have an awful lot of other things calling on your precious finances and insurance certainly costs money.
What you really have to consider is how do you perceive risk.
The Cost of Your Laptop
Whatever else one may say about your laptop, it's unlikely that you got it for free or that it can be described as cheap.
If something should happen to it such as:
- it was destroyed in an accident
- theft:
- it needed repair after the manufacturer's warranty ran out
Then you're going to have to start checking your bank and credit card statements to see if you can afford to buy another. That is, unless you have laptop insurance.
Upon considering the fact that these things happen every day, you will have to decide how much risk you are willing to take. If you are sure this won't happen to you, perhaps laptop coverage may seem like an unnecessary expense.
If, on the other hand, you know from past life experience that your luck is something less than 100% reliable, then this form of gadget insurance may be for you.
The cover available
You may find that for a relatively modest cost, you can protect your laptop against the above risks. As with any insurance product, terms and conditions, exclusions and limitations will apply and you may wish to read these carefully to ensure you understand them.
Such cover may also provide global protection so that you can breathe a little more easily when taking your laptop overseas with you.
It may also be worth keeping in mind that the providers of laptop protection insurance may also offer cover for your other gadgets including things such as iphones, iPads, cameras and PDAs etc.
Putting in Your Claim
Let's hope it never happens but if it does, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- if the claim is for theft whilst unattended, your laptop may have to be shown to have been in a secure locked premises or out of sight and locked away in a locked car:
- you must report the theft to police within 24 hours and you must get proof of the report by getting the police crime number for your case.
- typically insurers won't cover accidental damage and destruction claims that arose from you tampering with the laptop or trying to fit accessories.
So, laptop insurance may help you out of a crisis and as such, it might be seen as a small price to pay.
