Stolen Laptop Claim - what proof do I need regarding invoice etc

mudstuff

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Badger_Lady

What does your policy document say - does it cover "new for old"? In which case, the amount on the receipt shouldn't matter as long as you can prove you owned it and claim for the cost of buying an equivalent new one.

Anyone else know more about this?

mudstuff

Thanks Badger_Lady, I need to double check, but it should say that. The value for possessions away from home is £3000 I think so it would cover everything.

However I may not be able to find the receipt which is my main query - my only worry is if they were to offer something like a £1000 HP laptop with the same screen resolution as an equivalent then I would be most unhappy. I only buy Sony's best laptops as they are robust and have the best display possible - the whole point since I am a photographer. Technically the RRP of my old one was £1800 online and the new one I want and feel is the new equivalent can be found for £1780 from dabs.com.

Badger_Lady

If you really can't find a reciept, talk to your claims dept about alternative evidence of the model of laptop, such as photos of it / original packaging or warranties - anything that shows what you owned.

You might be OK - the police report is a form of evidence itself, since it's illegal for you to declare a different model of laptop to the police. You almost certainly won't have to show how much you paid - it's irrelevant on new-for-old policies (you would still be covered even if you'd found it in a skip, sort of).

Voyager2002

You really need to check the exact wording of your policy. If that is not clear, you could call up your insurer's sales people and pretend that you are a new customer considering taking out their insurance, and ask them exactly what would be covered in a (hypothetical) situation of being mugged.

As for the documentation for your laptop, what is of critical importance is not the receipt (laptops are sometimes given as presents) but some evidence that you really did own it. Obviously, if everyone who is mugged claimed that they had been relieved of a high-spec laptop and got paid for it, the insurance companies would rapidly go broke. So:
since you used it in your work over the last couple of years, have any colleagues or clients seen it, been invoiced for work done on it, or whatever? Maybe such a person could write a note confirming that they knew that you had been using the machine;
has it been in for repair at any stage?
at the time you arranged your insurance, did you tell the insurance company that it was one of the high-value items that you expected them to cover?

This may be obvious, but could you not contact the person who sold you the laptop and ask them for a note of confirmation?

mudstuff

Thanks for the follow-up Badger_Lady and thanks Voyager.