Insurer asking for laptop password

Sandtree

Annemos said:

I think the Staysure one is underwritten by a large and very solvent German insurer. So I do not have any concerns about the Underwriter actually folding. 

But does the fact that the people you would be dealing with are a company that is based in Gibraltar and might fold, still make you have worries from that particular perspective. (Insolvency.) 

Thanks for you help on this one. 

Both the companies on this thread use Great Lakes as their underwriter which is part of Munich Re but they are operated on a delegated underwriting authority/ MGA basis... which arguably makes it operationally similar to a reinsurance contract which is where Munich Re's expertise really is.

In the UK if an MGA fails it causes a major headache operationally but ultimate financial responsibility remains with the underwriter. I am not close enough to Gib law to know if there is any material differences for MGAs based there... I wouldnt expect there to be but its part of the unknown.

Annemos

Their home insurance which is now with the John Lewis brand, does operate under a UK based MGA now. Digital Partners. 

Thanks again, Sandtree. 

Sandtree

Annemos said:

Their home insurance which is now with the John Lewis brand, does operate under a UK based MGA now. Digital Partners. 

Thanks again, Sandtree. 

Digital Partners is yet another part of the Munich Re empire but think we've discussed this before and the web of companies involved Hood Group announce new partnership with John Lewis - Hood Group

Annemos

Yes we did. 

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/10207490/filing-history


Digital Partners which is the actual MGA, as far as I can see is a British Company. So Munich Re/Great Lakes now has its own MGA which is incorporated in the UK.

Am I right to feel more at ease, than when they were using an MGA which was unrelated? (UK General). 

( I do hope so!) 

Annemos

Apologies bigjimfeet, for creeping in on your post. 

It was the Gibraltar word that did it! 

I will get off your post. I do hope you can get your issue sorted out soon. 

bigjimfeet

Annemos said:

Apologies bigjimfeet, for creeping in on your post. 

It was the Gibraltar word that did it! 

I will get off your post. I do hope you can get your issue sorted out soon. 

Haha no problem!

TSx

This is fairly standard with insurance claims but I understand your concern. Ultimately if you can't reach an agreement with the insurer, you can make a complaint and if still not happy escalate to the Financial Ombudsman. A cursory glance suggests they have upheld the insurers position with a similar complaint

bigjimfeet

TSx said:

This is fairly standard with insurance claims but I understand your concern. Ultimately if you can't reach an agreement with the insurer, you can make a complaint and if still not happy escalate to the Financial Ombudsman. A cursory glance suggests they have

Thank you very much for that, very helpful. I’d never heard of an insurance company asking for this, but like you say it sounds fairly standard, so guess I have nothing to worry about.

[Deleted User]

bigjimfeet said:

Apple have quoted anything from £400-£800, as they’ve said they usually don’t just replace the keyboard but also replace other affected components.

Enabling a guest account may be a way forward, though I haven’t performed a system update since 11.6.

I guess my main issue is it seems a bit extreme to give them access to all my info when all they want to verify is the “last usage date,” something I could easily verify right now by, eg, sending them a short video of me using the laptop that includes the serial number and today’s date or something. But maybe I’m just being paranoid….

That sounds about right. The design of Apple machines is quite poor, the keyboard is attached to the case in a way that necessitates replacing the whole top part of the laptop. Also they don't have drainage holes or anything like that, so liquid that goes in just pools up and causes widespread damage.

[Deleted User]

TSx said:

This is fairly standard with insurance claims but I understand your concern. Ultimately if you can't reach an agreement with the insurer, you can make a complaint and if still not happy escalate to the Financial Ombudsman. A cursory glance suggests they have upheld the insurers position with a similar complaint

Thanks. That's quite a poor decision really. Does not account for the gross invasion of privacy necessary, and the lack of alternative options available.

For anyone else with a laptop, maybe the best thing to do is take a photo of the screen with that day's BBC News front page displayed every month. Then you can give them the photo as proof.

Edit: Thinking about it, there is a flaw in this requirement.

I have a laptop that I mostly only use when travelling. Due to the pandemic it's been turned on only once or twice in the past two years. I would expect it to be covered it I pulled it out today and spilt liquid on it.

Clearly policies covering mobile devices need to be examined carefully to see if they really do cover mobile devices, or if they are more just for things you keep at home and use regularly.