Claim insurance for a 8 year old macbook and a phone damaged in car accident

Usman90

Hi everyone I'm abit confused so would like some help if anyone can provide,

My macbook Pro has been damaged as well as my mobile phone in a car accident which was not my fault, I would like to claim for the damages from the third party insurance company however my macbook is now 8 year's old. It was in very good condition with nothing wrong with it. I would like to know as it's 8 year's old now can I still expect to receive the amount I paid for this macbook? I do have proof of purchase however I'm being told after the product is 4 year's old it reduces the value of the macbook so I would receive 40% less to what I originally paid for this, does anyone have knowledge about this is this information correct? I also have a smashed screen on my mobile phone which is 4 year's old phone. The phone was taken out on contract, can I expect the full value to be paid to me based on what the phone was worth on the date of purchase? I would appreciate any help that would be helpful. Thank you for your time 

Sandtree

You are entitled to indemnity which means being put in the same financial position you were immediately before the accident. This effectively means the limit of liability is the amount you could have sold the macbook for the moment before the accident. If cost of repairs are less than their value then they can repair them instead.

Your home insurance may well be written on a new for old basis and if you have taken out personal possessions cover they may pay you out the cost of buying a new equivalent phone/computer but then that would count as a claim on your home insurance. 

Usman90

I have spoken to the third party insurance company and they say they will pay out however have told me if it's over 4 years old I won't receive the full value of the macbook back. I'm very disappointed as this macbook was purchased a long time ago however it was in good condition, I don't feel it should be replaced with a second hand macbook as only I know the level of care my macbook has received. also at the time of purchase I had paid extra to have a 500gb upgraded hard drive but now a upgraded hard drive comes as standard with all macbook. My mobile phone again is in a similar situation. 

molerat

You will receive the full value of the used items, what you won't receive is the value of a new item as that is not what you had.  If they wrote off your 8 year old car would you expect a brand new one ?  If you want a new item claim on your home insurance for high value items away from home with new for old cover - you do have that don't you ? - I personally don't because the option is too expensive for the likely return.

Usman90

Who would decide what the value of my item's are worth? How would the item's be valued? 

Sandtree

Usman90 said:

Who would decide what the value of my item's are worth? How would the item's be valued? 

Back in my claims days we'd look at sold listing on eBay or refurbished offers on Amazon for slightl

Usman90

What if you can't find it on either sites? My macbook was a upgraded model I don't see any listings on ebay or amazon. There is one listing on ebay however that one is up for auction. Besides I wouldn't want my macbook to just be compared against any macbook like I have said its in good condition. I even have the box with my macbook which other seller's do not have which is another reason for they reduced price. Even selling my macbook I would expect a higher price as compared to the sellers who don't have the original packaging to. 

p3ncilsharpener

Usman90 said:

What if you can't find it on either sites? My macbook was a upgraded model I don't see any listings on ebay or amazon. There is one listing on ebay however that one is up for auction. Besides I wouldn't want my macbook to just be compared against any macbook like I have said its in good condition. I even have the box with my macbook which other seller's do not have which is another reason for they reduced price. Even selling my macbook I would expect a higher price as compared to the sellers who don't have the original packaging to. 

It's an 8-year-old laptop.  It'll have very little value, good condition or otherwise.

I'd bite their hand off at 60% of the original price.

user1977

Usman90 said:

What if you can't find it on either sites? My macbook was a upgraded model I don't see any listings on ebay or amazon. There is one listing on ebay however that one is up for auction. Besides I wouldn't want my macbook to just be compared against any macbook like I have said its in good condition. I even have the box with my macbook which other seller's do not have which is another reason for they reduced price. Even selling my macbook I would expect a higher price as compared to the sellers who don't have the original packaging to. 

I don't see the fact that it's in "good" condition or has a box will make much difference. It's an 8 yr old, outmoded computer, not some sort of collectable item.

Sandtree

Usman90 said:

What if you can't find it on either sites? My macbook was a upgraded model I don't see any listings on ebay or amazon. There is one listing on ebay however that one is up for auction. Besides I wouldn't want my macbook to just be compared against any macbook like I have said its in good condition. I even have the box with my macbook which other seller's do not have which is another reason for they reduced price. Even selling my macbook I would expect a higher price as compared to the sellers who don't have the original packaging to. 

You look at the closed sold listings not the open active ones. Its unusual not to find anything similar enough and in particular for MacBook where the upgrade options are so limited compared to the thousands of different graphic cards you can put in a windows desktop etc.

Ultimately its a negotiation and depending on values insurers can get other experts involved... so we had a TP who dented a "solid gold bracelet" and sent a quote of £10k for replacing it. When an item is written off it becomes the property of the insurer and so we asked them to send the bracelet and when it turned up it was obviously trash and someone had attempted to file off the Elizabeth Duke branding (Argos' own brand for jewelry). Given the big difference in the £10k they were claiming and the £30 a near identical item could be bought new on Argos' website at the time we paid for an expert report that confirmed it was a gold plate item worth nothing as scrap and little second hand.

We offered the current argos price just to close the case and chose to "ignore" how they'd gotten a £10k quote to replace it.

Its not hard to see if you went for 16 of ram rather than the standard 8 that you can add X% as a reasonable uplift even if you can only see 8gb items for sale.

Usman90

It will certainly make a difference, I don't think you're a ebay seller or you would not say this. You can have a look into future listings you see on ebay to see the difference it makes with packaging and with the item kept in good condition even if it's old. Appreciate your response 🙂