Laptop on accidental damage claim

emmamaw

hi
my daughter broke my laptop a few weeks ago. She wasn't concentrating and tried to plug the charger into the usb port instead of charger port. We took it to be fixed by an engineer we've used before. He said the motherboard was fried but he wouldn't replace it as the rest of the laptop was on its last legs. Its only two years old but its been repaired a few times as were quite heavy-handed. He said he would write a report so we could claim on our home insurance. We are with morethan and have buildings and contents with accidental damage and a £100 excess. We have never claimed in over 8 years. Do you think they will pay out or will they claim it was wear and tear?

we are

Quentin

Before contacting your insurer check that a claim is cost effective, taking into account the excess and the claim on your record. Once you contact them the loss will be recorded on your history whether or not the claim is successful.

Do dummy quotes with and without this in your history to see what difference it makex to your premiums.

emmamaw

hi Quentin. Tbh we cant afford to replace it ourselves. It only cost £600 but we've no chance of buying a new one ourselves as in currently on mat leave and things are quite tight. Im just really anxious about calling them as ive read the horror stories on here where people have suffered from asking questions.

Quentin

The horror stories are because people don't realise that insurers record any losses you report to them even if you don't make a claim. Subsequently when asked about losses/claims a problem arises if the loss hasn't been disclosed. And a loss on your recent history generally increases premiums.

Although it cost 600, wouldn't it be much cheaper to get a similar spec now?

As you are heavy handed on laptops maybe a cheapie is the answer. You will have the 100 the excess will cost to put towards it, plus any saving in future premiums.

*Scarlett

Some insurers will just record this as a loss and if you don't proceed with the claim you can keep your ncd. Others will reduce your ncd..

The impact on future premiums can vary depending on your own details and claims history. If this is the only claim in the last 8 years then it might not be as bad as you think - a single claim for a relatively small amount will not scare off future insurers but do some dummy quotes to give you an idea.

I don't think the insurer could put it down to wear and tear if the "expiry" of the laptop was due to accidental damage ie accidentally putting the plug in the wrong hole! If you have an engineers reporting stating that the laptops failure was caused by this then you should be ok.

If you have "new for old" cover then previous maintenance issues should not be an issue.

Personally for £600 claim value & £100 xs I would claim - it's what you pay your insurance for after all.

Be aware that insurers get a lot of claims for damaged laptops so be prepared for the 3rd degree of questioning - don't take it personally - just answer truthfully.

Ultimately it's up to you - as Quentin suggested it might be more cost effective to get a cheap laptop or tablet to replace this one.

closed

what charger, laptop chargers are a completely different shape to usb

how does he know it's on it's last legs

keith1950

We are with morethan and have buildings and contents with accidental damage and a £100 excess. We have never claimed in over 8 years. Do you think they will pay out or will they claim it was wear and tear?

Im just really anxious about calling them as ive read the horror stories on here where people have suffered from asking questions.

You have to weigh up the cost of the excess plus the future rise in premiums when considering whether to claim.

If you have never claimed in eight years then you would lose some discount when renewing your insurance and extra premiums over the next five years plus the excess could easily cost more than £500.

xMonsoonx

You are best looking at the specs of the laptop (hard drive, processor speed, ram and screen size) and comparing it what is available to today. If it more than a couple of years old any settlement would mostly likely be based on a basic entry level laptop of todays standard (£250-£350).

Once you excess has been deducted it may not be worth claiming.

The insurance company do not take into account how much is original cost it is all about the specs.