A guide to computer insurance
By Kate Saines
Anyone who has ever experienced the frustration of having their computer go on the blink at a crucial moment will understand the reason computer insurance is becoming a much sought after product.
Indeed, if you are one of the many people whose computers are their main tool for work, prime communication device or home to many precious photographic memories you’ll be all too aware of the need for protection.
Whether you have a laptop, desktop or handheld device, we’ve assessed a range of insurance solutions to help you protect your computer.
Home contents insurance
The obvious method of insuring your computer is to include it under your home contents insurance policy. Many contents policies will cover your computer as standard, so before you go shopping for computer cover make sure you check your policy.
This is a quick and simple method of insuring your computer, but there are certain things to watch out for. Make sure you are aware of the circumstances under which your insurer will process a claim for a damaged computer.
Most insurers will accept your computer being damaged by a natural disaster like a flood. Indeed many will also accept accidental damage, such as a child tipping fruit juice on your computer’s keyboard.
But there are likely to be restrictions. Churchill Insurance, for example, will allow you to claim for up to £12,000 on a laptop damaged accidentally by your child’s juice incident.
It will not pay up, however, if your computer is damaged through general wear and tear.
And many insurers will not pay for damage to any information stored on your computer or other home entertainment equipment. If you are buying a new home insurance policy, and want to make sure your computer is included, ensure you tell the insurer.
This is because most insurers require you to specify if any items of home entertainment are worth more than a certain amount – such as £1,500.
Make sure you also check with your insurer if you wish to take your computer out of your home. This is imperative if you have a laptop which accompanies you out and about or if your son or daughter or other family member needs to take their computer out of the home to university.
Buying personal possessions cover will ensure you are covered for these eventualities. Finally, downloads. If you own lots of expensive music which you keep on your computer it’s essential you check whether you are covered for this.
Many insurers do not. But some, like Hiscox, will pay £2,500 towards the cost of photography, videos or music lost on items insured under your home insurance.
Austyn Tusler, home insurance expert at the insurer, said: “There are some simple things homeowners can do to help safeguard their digital information such as making back-ups of files and storing these at a different location to their computer or contacting an online security company will store the data remotely on their behalf.”
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Specialist computer and laptop insurance
An insurance policy which provides cover for your computer alone could be the ideal option if your machine and its contents are indispensible.
This is because the insurers providing specialist computer, laptop and gadget insurance want you to buy their policy, not simply use your home insurance.
And this means they will insure you for all sorts of circumstances and with all sorts of benefits.
It’s common to find worldwide cover for your computer or laptop, additional cover for accessories, 48-hour replacement and you can also get discounts for insuring multiple items like your laptop, PC and a satnav, for example.
The price of buying a standalone computer insurance policy varies from company to company but for a standard PC you might be looking at between £30 and £60 annually.
It’s common for computer insurers to offer stepped levels of cover – ‘standard’, ‘gold’ and ‘executive’, for example. This provides an opportunity for you to tailor your cover to your needs and your computer.
Beware of insurers attempting to sign up to long-term deals – such as five years. While they might seem competitive in price, do you really want to be tied into one product for this long? You could miss out the chance to renew to a cheaper more comprehensive policy next year.
Some insurers will also not be keen to insure your laptop if it’s older than six months. So if you are going to buy insurance, make sure you do it as soon as you purchase your computer.
Before buying computer insurance as a standalone product, however, ask yourself a couple of questions.
Firstly, what are you looking for from your cover? Secondly, are the things you are already looking for covered either in your computer’s warranty or your home insurance?
If not, then it could be worth looking for a specialist deal. If you already have all the cover you need, it’s probably best to steer clear of computer insurance.
Student Bank Accounts
You’ll find laptop and gadget insurance comes as a ‘perk’ of many of the student bank accounts on the market today. Experts in banking do not recommend you choose your student account purely based on the free insurance offered.
But if you do happen to have an account with this benefit it would be a false economy to buy separate computer insurance.
Buying insurance from computer retailers
Finally, if offered computer insurance at the retailer when purchasing your machine don’t just automatically sign up. The product is likely to be similar to many of the specialist products we’ve mentioned previously, but you may end up paying more.
By giving yourself a day or two to check your home insurance to find out if you are already insured, or doing some research into the other specialist policies available you are far more likely to secure a better deal.
Use the Myfinances.co.uk comparison tables to find the best deal on computer insurance
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