Insurer warns of download risk
Wednesday, 01 Oct 2008 15:00
Downloaded content may not be covered by your insurance policy
Downloaded music and movies may not be covered by your home insurance, Virgin Money has warned.
More than 200 million legal music downloads have been sold in the UK since the launch of online stores in early 2004 but most insurers will only cover traditional formats such as CDs or DVDs in case of loss or theft.
Grant Bather, spokesman at Virgin Money, said: "More people are choosing to download music and films and as such, their computer will have a lot of information on it that if stolen, could be lost forever.
"A number of artists including Bloc Party, Marillion and Radiohead have all released their music online and it is clear that over the coming years artists will be exploiting the internet as a way to release their tracks.
"As such, fans need to make sure that should their computer get damaged, lost or stolen, that the tracks or feature films can be restored."
Virgin recommends that Brits with a large download collection should check with their insurer whether they are covered.
The insurer added customers with Virgin Money Home and Contents Cover are covered for up to a total of £3,000 – provided they keep all their receipts somewhere safe as proof of purchase.