HELP - with claim for laptop - wine damage

Bussand

Hi. We have Contents insurance. Never claimed before in all the years we’ve had it. I accidentally spilt a full glass of wine over my laptop (tripped on cable)! I tipped the laptop on it side to drain as much as possible. A lot of wine came out of the side, the keyboard and from the on / off power switch.

The insurance company have put it in the hands of a Replacement service. Their agent has said he will repair by replacing the keyboard and “cleaning” other parts.

I am not happy with this. I strongly believe the it will be impossible to satisfactorily clean off any residue and that the effects of the wine will be corrosive to any electrical components the wine came in contact with., deeming it potentially unreliable and maybe unsafe.

I have spoken to the insurance company about this. They in turn got me to speak to the replacement company. They said they would only be guided by the technician at the shop they use and that their obligation is to repair where possible.

I believe that this is not satisfactory. Has anyone got any ideas, please? Thanks.

Quentin

Your policy will say whether you can insist on a replacement (almost certainly not).

The repair should carry some sort of warranty. Alternatively, see if they are prepared to make a cash settlement which you can use towards buying the new one you want.

Also find out the cost of the repair, as it maybe that you find it is as cheap to withdraw the claim and pay for the repair yourself. (Saving your excess plus future premium increases, loss of any ncb etc)

nic283

My OH is trying to claim for this very thing too, although we have to send them pictures (close up & distant) of the laptop with a glass of wine, as well as receipts (which may be difficult as he bought it over 3 years ago) and send the laptop away for inspection. A right pain in the backside especially when you hear how easy other people's claims have been!

dacouch

nic283 wrote: »

My OH is trying to claim for this very thing too, although we have to send them pictures (close up & distant) of the laptop with a glass of wine, as well as receipts (which may be difficult as he bought it over 3 years ago) and send the laptop away for inspection. A right pain in the backside especially when you hear how easy other people's claims have been!

Which Insurer are you with?

Bussand

RIAS who use Fortis for the household side.

dacouch

RIAS are actually owned by Fortis.

Most companies will simply pass a Lap Top Claim on to their supplier and let the supplier assesse whether to repair or replace. On an older lap top its normally cheaper to just replace it as a lap top that cost say £800 3 years ago can often be replaced with a current equivalent for around £300.

I normally avoid Fortis for Home Insurance (They are very good on cars and travel) as they can be overly fussy on claims sometimes.

If you bought the lap top from someone like PC World you can normally just pop in the shop and give them your details and roughly when you bought it and they will give you a duplicate receipt which should be sufficient for Fortis. Alternatively if you paid by card a copy of your statement would normally be sufficient.

I assume you have quite a big excess if your with RIAS, how much is it?

Bussand

RIAS excess = £50.

dacouch

Thats good, a lot of people take a big excess intentionally or unintentionally with RIAS.

Can you get the proof of ownership to satisfy RIAS/Fortis as it will make the claim a lot easier

Quentin

You do them a disservice.

£50 excess is their norm on home insurance (buildings and contents).

Check their keyfacts.

dacouch

I stand corrected, its nice to see an Insurers website that does not automatically lump a voluntary excess on top of the voluntary excess. I wish they all did that and then gave the client the option to opt into a voluntary excess as I find a lot of people do not read the quote properly and end up with a biggish excess

Bussand

Good news. I tried to speak again to the Claims Handler who wasn't available. I was promised a call back which didn't happen. So I spoke to really pleasant and understanding Customer Service person at RIAS, It also helped that she had a similar experience with wine spilt on a laptop. I reaffirmed my concern that no one can guarantee that the corrosive effects of wine would'nt damage the repaired machine in the longterm.

As a result of her endeavours, Fortis have now offered a new laptop. All I have pay is the excess of £50 and £27.60 for an extra gig of memory which the technician suggested, and I totally agree.

RIAS customer services came through shining!

I think the moral is to pursue your genuine concerns and not give up at the first hurdle, which I must admit, I nearly did.

Thanks for you input, folks.