[Archived] Laptops And Insurers

[Eddie]

So to add to the misery of my keyboard not working properly I have now had the good fortune of a friend of mine spilling a drink right onto the laptop and it is completely dead as far as I can tell. This sort of thing should be covered by my insurance (endsleigh), but I was wondering if any had some advice when it comes to dealing with insurers in terms of getting things sorted quickly. If I send it off for them to assess and then replace it will take a couple weeks, which is a long time for me to go without my only computer. Any tips?

[Paul]

I would contact the insurers and ask them what they require. My guess is they will want a report on the damage from a recognised computer shop and perhaps two quotes for replacement. I can't imagine why you would want to send the laptop to the insurers as that is how the post reads.

In my experience if you get it sorted in two weeks you will have received very good service

[Hughesy]

I had a similar problem - Screen was smashed & it was fixed in about 8 days through the 'tech guys' at pc world or wherever it is...

Better still they fixed it, then quoted me the price - which I said forget it (not worth it), they then sent it back fixed and to no charge! Thats a quality service!

[snatchymcsnatch]

Various insurers work differently. If it's valued under £500 it's less likely that they will want any more than a claim form submitted. If it's your first claim, they will more than likely take your word for it and send a replacement as it's small change to them (Most companies do "new for old" - check your policy). If you've had multiple claims before they will probably want an independent assessment. Good insurers will send you a cheque within a couple of weeks. The not so good ones will fart you around any way they can in the hope that you will not bother. Expect them to load your premium at renewal as well - cynical I know but I worked for a large insurance company for a long time.

I had a similar problem - Screen was smashed & it was fixed in about 8 days through the 'tech guys' at pc world or wherever it is...

Better still they fixed it, then quoted me the price - which I said forget it (not worth it), they then sent it back fixed and to no charge! Thats a quality service!

Incidentally how much did you get quoted? I have a laptop with a cracked screen and I know it's not cheap so haven't bothered repairing it yet.

[Hughesy]

Something daft like £300 - I said no thanks, send it back and il just buy a new one.....anyway it came back but fixed

[Alan75]

I would contact the insurers and ask them what they require. My guess is they will want a report on the damage from a recognised computer shop and perhaps two quotes for replacement. I can't imagine why you would want to send the laptop to the insurers as that is how the post reads.

In my experience if you get it sorted in two weeks you will have received very good service

Unfortunately you are correct Paul,Im not suggesting that the damage to Eddie laptop isnt genuine, but with insurance fraud is currently running at £5 million a day, so I can understand why the insurance companies check every claim these days.

Unfortunately honest people are having to pay the penalty and increased premiums for the not so honest people.

[DE.]

Insurance companies are cracking down harder and harder now, so usually it isn't as easy as making a claim and getting a cheque/repair. A cracked screen averages at around £300 to be fixed, even broken keys cost a stupid amount to repair.

Is why it's normally a good idea to get the accidental damage cover that most retailers provide. £120-£150 may seem like a lot at the time, but it's generally hassle-free and done fairly quickly, and still quite a bit cheaper than the alternative should the laptop break(and at some point, most do). Also saves premiums on normal insurance going up.

I think the wait for a standard insurer is between 1 and 2 weeks. At work we sometimes get laptops back from our insurance company in 2 or 3 days. However, it depends on the damage. if the drink has damaged the HDD/motherboard it'll take longer than if it's just ruined the keyboard.

[Eddie]

Thanks for the advice guys. I just asked about sending it off as that is one of the options my insurers (Endsleigh) have given for assessment. I can get it done privately, but at my own cost. Is it best just to go to PC World? All I need is an evaluation and assessment of the damage and how much it would cost to have it fixed? The cheaper the better in all honesty. I've had some tech-savvy friends have a look and the general consensus is that it's buggered, so at this point I just want the cheapest option for getting that message to my insurers.

[Alan75]

Thanks for the advice guys. I just asked about sending it off as that is one of the options my insurers (Endsleigh) have given for assessment. I can get it done privately, but at my own cost. Is it best just to go to PC World? All I need is an evaluation and assessment of the damage and how much it would cost to have it fixed? The cheaper the better in all honesty. I've had some tech-savvy friends have a look and the general consensus is that it's buggered, so at this point I just want the cheapest option for getting that message to my insurers.

Eddie make sure you get a written quote (not an estimate)on company headed paper.

[Eddie]

I have now had it all settled and it ended up being sent of to the insurers to have it evaluated and they have agree to replace the model, but they are now refusing to return my old computer on the basis that it now belongs to them and that I will need to pay a 150 pound salvage fee to get it back. This worries me slightly because of the amount of information that may still be on there.

Is this normal?

[DE.]

Unfortunately it is.

I work at a retail company and insurers are notable for things like this. If we send off a customer's laptop with ANY parts that the insurer doesn't want they refuse to send them back. That includes batteries, and power cables they charge us a hefty sum to send them back, or otherwise claim the parts have already been disposed of.

[Guest Wen Y Hu]

I have now had it all settled and it ended up being sent of to the insurers to have it evaluated and they have agree to replace the model, but they are now refusing to return my old computer on the basis that it now belongs to them and that I will need to pay a 150 pound salvage fee to get it back. This worries me slightly because of the amount of information that may still be on there.

Is this normal?

Since the insurers are providing you with a replacement, it is quite natural that they lay claim to the original item. As for buying it back from them, it's quite possible that only the motherboard was fried and that the hard drive and possibly memory is perfectly ok. So, depending on whether there is any important or critical data on it that you did not have backed up (or potentially don't want others to see), it may be worth buying back. If the drive is not affected, you will be able to recover the hard drive and transfer it and/or the data to your new machine. Also, there may be other parts of the machine besides the memory that you can re-use, use as spares, or sell off.

So, if you value your data at 150 pounds and you want to take a chance on your hard drive being ok, then I would agree to the salvage fee and have them send it back to you pronto. I wouldn't even discuss with them why I wanted it back either.