Is there an insurance person in the house?

[MissTillyFlop]

I've just been looking at the Ts & Cs of the policy proposed for the laptop my daughter's buying, and I note it specifically excludes: "Damage to Equipment that is not suitably stored, packed or protected whilst being transported or carried."

I can see why it's there. They don't want to be liable if a gormless student just chucks the thing in the boot of their Muppet GTi and then goes off on a joy ride. But it does seem on the face of it to exclude also her accidentally dropping it while leaving a lecture (at which point she certainly won't have 'stored, packed or protected' it). Is this just to be expected, and de rigeur for a policy like this? Or do some such policies have wording that would cover her in such a situation, while also protecting the insurer from muppetry?

Any advice much appreciated.

Nope, it pertains specifically to items in transit when moving address.

Carrying objects out of the insured properties (Yours and your daughter's addresses) would need to be covered under additional cover for items away from the home.
At least this was the case when I worked for the insurance company.

 

[PK99]

As for the original insurance question ... I have heard of mixed experiences with insurance companies. Some do the decent thing and pay up in full without fuss. Others wriggle out of paying whenever possible.

In my experience and observation, the ones who quibble the most about paying out are the ones with the lowest premiums - that is why their premiums are low!
As with everything, you get what you pay for. Ultra cheap insurance is often an ISO - Insurance Shaped Object!

I've made a number of claims for skiing accidents, burglaries, water leaks, bikes stolen from garage, bike accident damage* and never had a quibble from any insurance company about paying out in full and very promptly too. But I never go for the cheapest quote.

*When I had a SMIDSY and the claim took a while to settle, I claimed on my Household policy (Hiscocks) and they paid out in full within a week and chased the drivers insurance company to recover their payout to me, I had no further involvement in that side of the claim.

 

[Globalti]

I watched my nephew juggling with his iPhone. It is the 3rd or 4th one that he has owned, the previous ones having been killed by careless handling. I suggested that it was not a clever thing to do, but he carried on. And then dropped it! Ooops, how did that happen ...

The phone actually survived that impact, probably because it bounced off a sofa onto a carpeted floor.

It was not so lucky the following week when it was taken out in the storms which led to the local flooding. It got waterlogged and never recovered!

This is quite common when the current phone has been superceded by a newer more desirable model. The old phone suddenly suffers an unfortunate accident with a very vague explanation; never the owner's fault anyway.

 

[swee'pea99]

This is quite common when the current phone has been superceded by a newer more desirable model. The old phone suddenly suffers an unfortunate accident with a very vague explanation; never the owner's fault anyway.

There's a very easy cure for it though. Just make it clear that any replacement will have to be financed by them.

 

[swee'pea99]

Nope, it pertains specifically to items in transit when moving address.

Carrying objects out of the insured properties (Yours and your daughter's addresses) would need to be covered under additional cover for items away from the home.
At least this was the case when I worked for the insurance company.

I suspect the kicker is the last line. As has been said, the wording is what it is; the interpretation of that wording is very much open to the individual company. In the case I propose, a company minded to do so could argue that the laptop was being carried at the time, and had not been adequately stored, packed or protected - so no payout.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Just remember if you're stoving in your own windows in for a dodgy claim always chuck stuff from the outside in.

 

[swee'pea99]

Just remember if you're stoving in your own windows in for a dodgy claim always chuck stuff from the outside in.

Another Top Tip from 3BM!

 

[midlife]

Just remember if you're stoving in your own windows in for a dodgy claim always chuck stuff from the outside in.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03bkj8n

Sorted

Shaun

 

[jonny jeez]

. I recognise it's a grey area. But no, not meteorites. Or tigers.

Dolphins?

I hate bloody Dolphins.

 

[swee'pea99]

Dolphins?

I hate bloody Dolphins.

They are a menace. Especially in Sheffield.

 

[jonny jeez]

They are a menace. Especially in Sheffield.

Tell me about it!

smug, self satisfied, smiley buggers..."look at me with my massive intelligence and no need for aposable thumbs"

 

[Milkfloat]

Just remember if you're stoving in your own windows in for a dodgy claim always chuck stuff from the outside in.

I seem to recall that lead to the comeuppance of Arthur Fowler in EastEnders 20 or so years ago.

 

[PK99]

[QUOTE 4160927, member: 9609"]So when you are faced with a range of premiums from, lets say, 300 - £1,100 for the exact same product. At what level of premium would you opt for ?

.[/QUOTE]

An impossible to answer hypothetical question.
What I would not do is go on a comparison site and automatically default to the cheapest option - just as when having work done on the house I tend to knock out the top and bottom quote, or buying a washing machine I do not look for the cheapest and avoid the top of the market - I identify what I want and find the company willing to offer the lowest price on that. (On white goods, that is normally John Lewis)

Buying car insurance for my daughter a while ago, it was clear from the range of quotes (a factor of x10) that some companies had a business model that did not want 20 year old's who passed their test a month ago, other companies had a model involving in-car trackers and rebates based on driving patterns. We went with a subsidiary of a big name at the lower end of the range that specializes in inexperienced drivers and had no problems at all with two claims (1. someone [identified] drove into the back of the car when parked, 2.My daughter reversed into someone in a car park)

On another tack: A "friend" wanted a new sofa, so he poured a pot of paint over the old one and claimed on his insurance. He is now an IFA - if he ever did the same again I would have no qualms about reporting him to both the Insurance fraud hot line and his regulatory body.