When is a laptop not a computer?

mchaggismuncher

I have a laptop that has a cracked screen so as this cost 1500 over 1.5 years ago and I am still paying for it, I decided to put in a claim on house insurance for accidental damage.  This is first time I have ever claimed.

Our insurer (Admiral) came back today stating it was only covered up to 1000 as it wasn't specifically specified on the policy, and indeed deeply buried I can see where they say that.  However they say that office equipment is covered up to 10k.  I asked why it was not covered under office equipment and was told because they only cover Computers, fax machines (really?) phones (not mobiles).  I am a little confused as I thought a laptop was a computer?  They make no specific exclusions for a laptop.

Can they change goal posts like that?  We have Admiral Platinum insurance if that makes any difference.

Thanks
David.

Annemos

Seems strange to me..... (I cannot comment on the 10,000 pounds issue. Do you get a separate Policy Schedule for the actual Pounds amounts covered?) 


I find reading these booklets very strange. Each Insurer's is subtly different and for me it depends on how one is supposed to read it. 

I cannot see why your laptop would be declined, myself. But I wonder if the Experts on here will find another way to catch you out!! 


Just looking at their most recent booklet. 

Page 27   Contents Accidental Damage...... 

What is not covered  ADMIRAL GOLD PLATINUM    (I) Accidental damage to mobile phones, laptops, tablets or notebooks, unless ‘Accidental damage (III) Contents’ appears on your policy documents. 


Page 28     (III)   Contents Accidental damage to or loss of contents in your home   (And this IS included anyway for Platinum.)  

So Contents Accidental Damage on the face of it includes your Laptop.

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Then if we go and look at Office Equipment on Page 24: I interpret the highlighted bit below to kick you back into "what is a contents insured risk"....   and then we are back into the ones stated above on Page 27 and 28 again. Which we just decided is OK for your Laptop....

Office Equipment:  Loss of or damage to office equipment belonging to you or your family, and used at home or outbuildings for office work, as a result of any contents insured risk. By office equipment we mean: computers, keyboards, monitors, printers, fax machines, photocopiers, landline phones (not mobile phones) and office furniture. It does not include any trade items held in stock.

Also the fact that this last one DOES specifically disallow mobile phones, but does not mention Laptops might help on your side?  (And a Laptop is just a Portable Computer anyway?)   And in the General Definitions there is no definition of "Computer". And why would a laptop be included for a Home-use laptop, but not Office use laptop? 

mchaggismuncher

So they state this on the policy schedule " Single unspecified High Risk items worth more than £1,000 must be specified in the table above to be covered to their full value"

However they say before hand that Office equipment is covered up to £10,000, does this mean that office equipment is covered to that up to that value even if it has not been specified or is it only if it has been specified, otherwise the prior statement applies.  

I am confused.

Anyway they are leaving me to get a repair quote for the screen, but not many places around me do that, so have to wait until I get that before proceeding.  I was hoping they would pick it up an examine it themselves.

mchaggismuncher

I think they have got me.

" Unspecified item limit

This limit is shown in your Home Policy Schedule under the ‘Specified Items’ table. All high-risk items above this limit must be shown in your latest policy documents. If they’re not, we will not pay more than the ‘Unspecified item limit’ for them."

They don't specify what comes under High Risk though.

Annemos

I can't see where that 1000 limit comes from. 

All I can see, is that it has to be separately listed if it is above 2000 pounds??? And this includes laptops. 

See this link..... 

https://www.admiral.com/home-insurance/optional-cover/high-risk-items

Is your policy schedule actually saying something else?  Why would that be? Have they recently upped the limit to 2000 pounds??

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Yes, I do think the matter of  "high-risk items" having to be specified (told to Admiral what they are and how much they are worth and with purchase proof provided etc etc)  has to be done for office use items too. (It applies to the whole contents policy.)

So if you had not told Admiral about the Laptop, then they could restrict the claim to the top "at-risk-limit" under which things don't have to be declared. (1000 if that is what your Policy Schedule says is your At Risk Limit starting point.)


But on thinking about it, surely that is more the case if the thing was not reparable and the whole thing was written off. And so needed to be completely replaced. And would they then only allow you 1000/1500 x the cost of the replacement? 

Surely with a screen repair, the cost is going to be much less than 1000.  Surely they wouldn't do 

1000/1500 X Repair Cost?  Or would they? 

There is also the excess you will have to pay. 

Annemos

A lady took Admiral to the FOS....

As I was searching for the Admiral policy, this case popped up on Google. This was 2021 and the at risk limit was 1000. 

Here admiral tried to "catch" the lady for not declaring clothes and handbags over 1000. The FOS upheld her Complaint


https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/decision/DRN-3015750.pdf

On-the-coast

is “gold platinum” a thing with admiral? Per what Annemos has copied?
mine is platinum & has the same £2000 single high risk item limit as they note - so also trying to understand your issue. 

However my policy renewed a few weeks ago - that limit may have been £1000 previously, as tbh that’s the figure I remembered. 

Annemos

They seem to have an  Admiral,   then Admiral Gold   and  then Admiral Platinum.  And the Platinum has Matching Items as already included, for example. Whereas for the others you have to add it on as an optional extra. 

I imagine you have to be a bit more careful that you pick up the Optional items if you want them with Admiral. 


John Lewis also has Bronze, Silver and Gold. There seems to be no difference between the actual offering for those three levels, other than the actual monetary limits. 

mchaggismuncher

On-the-coast said:

is “gold platinum” a thing with admiral? Per what Annemos has copied?
mine is platinum & has the same £2000 single high risk item limit as they note - so also trying to understand your issue. 

However my policy renewed a few weeks ago - that limit may have been £1000 previously, as tbh that’s the figure I remembered. 

My policy renewed in July so could have changed I guess not sure.  I think only admiral, gold, platinum

400ixl

I know that when I took out our Admiral Platinum policy it was very clear that you had to declare any laptops which were over £1000 in value. It was very specific, unlike clothes mentioned above.

This was the case for the last 3 years and included the last 2 renewals of which the latest was in October.

DullGreyGuy

Without clarification of exactly which product you hold can only go on speculation and general principles.

You are comparing an aggregate and single item limit and thats the problem. Unspecified office equipment sounds to be insured for a total of up to £10,000 but no single "high risk" article over £1,000 unless specified. Laptops are explicitly called out as high risk items and so the £1k limit applies unless you specified it. 

Your only hope of disputing it really will be if it was unclear during the purchase of the insurance that it needed to be specified but it sounds like the laptop was purchased after the insurance was initially purchased and so instead it comes down to the wording of the renewal notice and its call to action on if anything has changed.