There is a lot of misinformation today about buyer electronics and how it is treated by insurance companies. Most population I talk to think that if they have homeowners or renters insurance, their buyer electronics are covered.
But they regularly find out that their assumptions aren't true...at claims time.
Sure, some of the asset is covered. But there are a bunch of limits and exclusions that will surprise you if you have a loss and file a claim.
Don't wait until claim time to learn about this important coverage. Read this article thought about and make good decisions about your coverage.
Twenty years ago, buyer computer usage and possession was not all that common. If you owned a cell phone, you carried it in a bag the size of a small purse. There were few home fax machines. Answering machines were pretty common, but voicemail was still on the horizon. Scanners were non-existent. Printers and copiers were huge and expensive, and you didn't see them in most homes. If you were the rare someone who had satellite Tv, the dish was about eight feet over and sat out in the back yard. And Personal Digital Assistants (Pdas) and Mp3 players had not been invented yet.
But today....
In our home we have:
o two desktop computers with monitors
o four laptop computers
o four printers
o one stand-alone fax machine
o one mixture fax, scanner, copier
o three Tvs
o two Vcrs
o one digital video camera with tripod for our home recording studio
o one audio mixing board, one microphone, one amplifier, two external soundcards, and a 500Gb hard drive, all for our home recording studio
o two Dvd players
o two cell phones, one smartphone, each with voicemail
o one satellite Tv system with a 24" dish on the roof
o two Ipods
Your home may not have that amount of electronics, but then again, you might have more. The way that buyer electronics prices have tumbled over the years makes possession much easier for more and more people.
But...is it covered? Does your homeowners or renters insurance cover your electronics?
We run three isolate businesses out of our home. Most of our electronics are used in our businesses.
Do you have a home business? There are millions of home businesses...everything from home daycare to a assistance firm to multilevel marketing businesses. Many times, those entrepreneurs own office electronics for their home business. Do you use your computers and other electronics for any kind of home business? Even if you're answering office email on your home computer, it could be thought about "business use."
Are they covered by Your homeowners policy?
Are they covered if they are business-related?
What happens if your desktop or laptop computer is stolen, whether from home or away from home? Is the theft covered by your homeowners insurance policy?
If you're carrying your laptop straight through an airport everywhere in America, your laptop is at huge risk for theft. (See more below) What if your laptop is stolen while you're in the airport?
Here is the sass to those questions...
Maybe!!
In the Homeowners or Renters Policy, Coverage C, Contents, there are extra limits of ,500 for "property, on the home premises, used primarily for firm purposes." The course says there is a 0 limit for "property away from the home premises used primarily for firm purposes." Of course, you will have a deductible to pay first, so if your deductible is 0 or more, you won't get Any money from the insurance firm for this loss.
Are your personal electronics covered? Yes, but only for the following perils:
o Fire or lightning
o Windstorm or Hail
o Explosion
o Riot or Civil Commotion
o Aircraft (not in aircraft, but if aircraft fall on your stuff.)
o Vehicles (not in vehicles, but if vehicles crash into your stuff.)
o Smoke
o Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
o Theft
o Falling Objects (stuff falling onto your stuff)
o Weight of Ice, Snow or Sleet
o Accidental extraction or Overflow of Water or Steam
o Sudden and Accidental Tearing Apart or Bursting (of a steam or hot water system).
o Freezing
o Sudden and Accidental Damage from an Artificially Generated Electrical Current
o Volcanic Eruption
As I said above, the course limit for firm electronics at the home is ,500.
If your laptop or other portable electronics are stolen from your car, there is no coverage under your Auto insurance for the theft.
Also remember, that under Coverage C, Contents, payment is made on an Actual Cash Value basis, not replacement Cost Value. The only way to get Rcv is to add the Contents replacement Cost endorsement to your policy. It's not automatic, you have to invite it.
How about other kinds of damage that your computer might sustain?
o Accidental damage, such as dropped equipment, falls, liquid spills and auto collisions.
o Water damage
Those kinds of damages are not covered under your homeowners or renters policy.
And what about the software and sensitive data in your computer? Is that covered, too?
Not likely. In the Homeowners and Renters policies, under the "Property Not Covered" section, "business data, along with data stored in computers and connected equipment" is not covered.
So, to be fully covered, you'll need to buy some additional coverage.
Computer And Personal Electronics Insurance
The important firm in the world for computer and portable electronics insurance is Safeware Insurance. They have programs for students, individuals, small and large businesses and schools at very competitive rates.
Let me take a few minutes and tell you about their outstanding insurance product.
If you own:
o Desktop or Laptop Computers
o Personal Digital Assistants (Pdas)
o Smartphones
o Digital cameras
o Mp3 players
o Scanners/Faxes/Copiers
o Printers
o Dvd players
o Flash drives
o Servers
o External hard drives
o Digital camcorders
o Peripherals that associate to your computers straight through an Usb port, Firewire, Pcmcia or another input
All of these electronic products need extra insurance coverage not in case,granted in Homeowners or Renters policies.
Did you know these facts about computers?
o Accidental damage is the amount one cause of loss
o Theft is amount two cause of loss
o Power surge is amount three
o Manufacturer warranties do not safe your computer from accidental damage or theft
o Even though some manufacturers do offer extra "damage only" coverage, they do not offer coverage for theft, power surges, natural disasters or vandalism.
You already know how easy it is to have electronics with replacement value in excess of ,500. There are loaded desktops and laptops that precisely exceed ,500 Each.
So, you have some choices:
1. Call your agent and buy a Personal asset Endorsement to add coverage to your homeowners or renters policy. Downsides to this choice are (a) many endorsements only pay the Actual Cash Value of the damaged property, not replacement cost, and (b) perils like Accidental Damage, Drops, Falls, Cracked Screens, Liquid Spills and Auto Collisions are not covered.
2. Buy a institution course that just adds extra coverage for your computers and other electronics, like:
o Desktops
o Laptops and notebooks
o Personal Digital Assistants (Pdas)
o Smartphones
o Digital cameras
o Mp3 players
o Scanners/Faxes/Copiers
o Printers
o Dvd players
o Flash drives
o Servers
o External hard drives
o Digital camcorders
o Peripherals that associate to your computers straight through an Usb port, Firewire, Pcmcia or another input
Safeware's policies cover Accidental Damage, Drops, Falls, Cracked Screens, Liquid Spills and Auto Collisions.
Business Electronics
In May 2006, burglars stole a laptop from the home of a data interpreter at the agency of Veterans Affairs. The laptop contained the sensitive personal information of over 26 million veterans and military personnel. The Fbi said that the laptop was recovered after an informant "snitched," motivated by a ,000 reward.
But it's not just organizations that deal with buyer data that are implicated about thefts. Fellowships whose employees have laptops are naturally implicated with the value of the computer when it is the firm that owns the laptop.
The Ponemon Institute, a privacy risk management think tank, released an unabridged study in June 2008 entitled "Airport Insecurity : The Case of Missing and Lost Laptops." They studied laptop protection at 106 American airports and found that there is an median of 12,000 laptops lost, missing or stolen at American airports Per Week! The airport with the worst article is Los Angeles International, with about 1,200 per week. The nation's busiest airport, Atlanta's Hartsfield, was in eighth place with 450 per week.
Further, the study found that only 33% of the laptops within the airport's Lost and Found Departments are ever reclaimed! That means that the remaining 67% of unclaimed laptops are whether sold or disposed of by airport authorities. Can you imagine the amount of sensitive personal and firm data contained in those laptops? No one knows what happens to that data, but it is All at risk. The Identity Theft risks are astronomical.
Safeware's course covers firm electronics for the hazards the homeowners, renters or firm insurance course does not cover.
Education Coverage
Students face a higher risk of damage or theft than a general adult user. Students can touch accidents when they're putting their stuff into their locker, or accidentally get bumped in a busy hallway, or when they're running to the bus. A soft drink could be spilled on the keyboard, or they could sit their laptop bag down somewhere and later find it missing.
This course protects students' computers against Accidental Damage, Theft, Vandalism, Power Surge, and Natural Disasters at any location within the Usa, Canada and while in transit.
Small firm Coverage is for any sized firm with electronics asset values up to ,999, covering Accidental Damage, Theft, Fire, Vandalism, Power Surge and Natural Disasters.
Commercial Coverage is a group plan for organizations that have electronics asset values in excess of ,000. Coverage can be one of the following: unabridged (Accidental Damage, Theft, Fire, Vandalism, Power Surge, and Natural Disasters); Theft Only, or Accidental Damage Only.
The commercial course can benefit organizations such as:
o Schools and colleges that want to make their student's notebook computers more safe and less at risk.
o Corporations issuing notebooks and laptops to their workers, and wishing to minimize their risk of capital loss.
In these organizations, the equipment is owned by the corporation or school and used by the employee or student. touch has shown that if an personel does not own the computer, he or she is likely to take less care of the item than if they owned it themselves. Schools and businesses need to insure their equipment against the perils that could turn their costly equipment into unusable junk.
Safeware insurance policies do not depreciate for age and condition of your electronics. If you have a claim that requires replacement of your equipment, they pay for like kind and quality of the equipment you had. That's a Huge distinction from the Homeowners and Renters policies, and could mean thousands more dollars to you in a claim.
Worldwide Coverage is an endorsement that adds global coverage to your course for a very low price. Proper coverage is for the Usa, Canada and Puerto Rico.
Mobile benefit insures Pdas and smartphones. You likely purchased your unit at a big reduction when you signed up for a assistance plan. If your device is damaged or stolen, you'll have to pay full retail for another unit. However, with movable Advantage, you're only responsible for the deductible per incident to get a brand new device.
For more information about Personal Electronics insurance for your student, yourself, your firm or your school, touch Safeware insurance at: safeware.com
Laptop rescue Coverage
Can you get your stolen laptop back?
There is a way that you can safe your laptop, and then retrieve your laptop after it's been stolen.
Three burglary suspects were arrested on February 1, 2008 by Albuquerque police, thanks to a stolen computer loaded with tracking software. The software is called LoJack for Laptops(Tm), industrialized by Absolute Software. The tracking software told the police exactly where to find the suspects. The police were also able to recover thousands of dollars in other stolen asset at the location.
Absolute Software is the leader in Computer Theft Recovery, Data protection and fetch Asset Tracking(Tm) solutions. It works this way: You setup the LoJack for Laptops(Tm) software and register it at the LoJack website. If the laptop is stolen, you edify your local police and edify the LoJack rescue Team. The next time your computer is connected to the Internet, the laptop privately notifies the Monitoring center of its whereabouts. The rescue Team can track its location, and furnish police with the information they will need to get a quest warrant and recover your laptop.
Pricing for LoJack for Laptops(Tm) starts at only .99 per year.
My friend here in Atlanta, Cole Harrison, had his laptop stolen from his car recently. He had the Lojack system on the laptop, and notified them immediately when he discovered the theft. Lojack placed the laptop the next day...in Thailand.
If you want safe your laptop so you can get it back after it's been stolen, touch Lojack for Laptops at: www.lojackforlaptops.com Lojack boasts a 90% rescue rate for stolen laptops.
Conclusion
For only a small price, you can have the proper coverage you need to safe all your personal and firm electronics. Be the smartest someone on your block with the right protection. Be the hero to your firm with the best coverage. You Can Do It!!
Electronics assurance - Are Your Electronics and Computers Covered by Your Insurance?
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