Contents insurance claim, what to expect?

wba31

So arrived home from work last night to find the house has been broken into. had a computer and my camera gear stolen, not ideal.

Just notified my contents insurance provider to start a claim, how will they deem what is payable?

I paid £1100 for my iMac a few years back, would cost me the same to replace, but will then pay £300 (for example) for a few years depreciation? or will they offer enough to replace?
same with my camera, paid £500 for the body 5 years ago, but to replace would cost me £500. same with lenses and flash kit etc.

The loss of wedding photos i did as a favour for a friend 3 weeks back is already making me sick, so praying my mac at least is ever found (but i know it's unlikely!), but now worrying that im gonna be left massively out of pocket if i look to replace these items...

Quentin

Read your policy for confirmation but most contents insurance is on a new for old basis rather than the current value of the stolen items

ThinkingOutLoud_2

Not so much about your claim - but did you have you MAC automatically backing up to iCloud or have new photos automatically added into Photos and shared across devices?

Not trying to suggest "after the event" so much as hoping maybe you set up years ago and never needed till now.

Good luck, whatever.

wba31

ThinkingOutLoud wrote: »

Not so much about your claim - but did you have you MAC automatically backing up to iCloud or have new photos automatically added into Photos and shared across devices?

Not trying to suggest "after the event" so much as hoping maybe you set up years ago and never needed till now.

Good luck, whatever.

Thank you for your wishes.

I've never fully got icloud, so nothing is backed up. I took out a subscription in Lightroom for the wedding photos so installed it on our old laptop (that i am using now) this morning hoping i clicked on something that put all my work on the cloud. unfortunately i didnt, so between the many phone calls (my insurance, landlord insurance, letting agents etc) ive been kicking myself for not having more back ups of the files...

ThinkingOutLoud_2

wba31 wrote: »

Thank you for your wishes.

I've never fully got icloud, so nothing is backed up. I took out a subscription in Lightroom for the wedding photos so installed it on our old laptop (that i am using now) this morning hoping i clicked on something that put all my work on the cloud. unfortunately i didnt, so between the many phone calls (my insurance, landlord insurance, letting agents etc) ive been kicking myself for not having more back ups of the files...

Sorry to hear that. It is something I guess you will be onto from now on.

There are many backup solutions (which adds to the confusion) but as you have a MAC and Lightroom - iCloud is pretty good for backing up (you may have to pay a bit depending on your storage needs). You might also have some free backup space from your ISP.

And as mentioned loading into your Apple Photos, while it is not your raw images, will give you a copy and be accessible elsewhere...

Also Lightroom has a neat feature where when you import, you can automatically backup to a separate place. Of course, that needs to be not another device sat alongside so they can't nick that too...

Blibble

Depends on your policy - as said above, most contents is new-for-old so it would be the current price (to the insurer) of a spec-for-spec replacement. As time has moved on, you'll find the camera equipment may have depreciated a tad due to advances in technology, however the iMac will be fairly straight-forward.

wba31

Blibble wrote: »

Depends on your policy - as said above, most contents is new-for-old so it would be the current price (to the insurer) of a spec-for-spec replacement. As time has moved on, you'll find the camera equipment may have depreciated a tad due to advances in technology, however the iMac will be fairly straight-forward.

Ive compiled a list of everything taken, how much i paid for it (much was bought through amazon) and found the replacement items for many things. Things like my camera body are discontinued, so to replace will require a new version of the body. If I need to spend £400 and they offer me £300, can i negotiate the offer with evidence like i would car insurance pay outs for a write off?

Quentin

Yes. Have evidence that the offer isn't fair

FutureGirl

Don't forget that the insurer may have a supplier that can supply the equipment such as cameras etc, so if you opt for cash it may only be what the insurers suppliers can source the items for.

Blibble

You can always do your own research, but your insurer will have a supplier who finds the replacement for you (as FutureGirl says; if you take cash it'll be a discounted rate as the supplier will get a discount). Unless you can evidence why their offer is unfair, then that's what your insurer will agree with. If you've done research on all the accessories for the camera etc., that'll be useful to send to their supplier as in my experience they tend to get a bit lost with anything past a camera body!

wba31

Blibble wrote: »

You can always do your own research, but your insurer will have a supplier who finds the replacement for you (as FutureGirl says; if you take cash it'll be a discounted rate as the supplier will get a discount). Unless you can evidence why their offer is unfair, then that's what your insurer will agree with. If you've done research on all the accessories for the camera etc., that'll be useful to send to their supplier as in my experience they tend to get a bit lost with anything past a camera body!

I have made sure everything is listed. They havent offered me items, only cash or cheque... Seeing as ill pay an excess and my premium will go up I will make sure i dont go empty handed from this. Seems crazy that we pay insurance to cover our losses yet it wont be that simple when it comes to it...