MacBook & Laptop Insurance Guide

Who would have thought that the invention of a portable computer could make such a difference to our lives? No longer are we tied to one place to use our computers. Now we can work from a beach in the Caribbean whilst also ordering next week's shop.

There are downsides to carrying your connection with the outside world around with you in a bag. Apart from needing a bigger bag, there's more risk of you losing it, or someone stealing it.

Things to consider before taking out laptop insurance

• Would you need a near immediate replacement for the laptop should you lose it?
• Whether you tend to be accident prone and have a history of damaging and losing your laptop. If so, then insurance might be the right option for you.
• Is your laptop protected by your home contents insurance? You don't want to spend money unnecessarily if you already have your laptop(s) covered, so check out your home contents policy to find out if they are protected. The important point to note is that while they may indeed be covered, they may not be covered outside the home or in the hands of younger family members. They probably won't be covered for mechanical breakdowns and malfunctions, either. So if this is a concern you'll want to consider getting alternative protection.
• When taking your laptop abroad - would you be covered by your travel insurance? Check the excess and how much they are insured for. How about children travelling alone on school trips? Are they protected should they damage it while on their trip? Again, these are policy details you should check before deciding to take out a laptop insurance policy.
• You may also be covered with inclusive insurance with a packaged bank account or certain credit cards - again, check this out before taking out stand alone laptop insurance, as doubling up on insurance can lead to lots of complications should you need to make a claim. Doubling up on insurance doesn't mean double the pay-out, it can mean double the administrative headache.

What does laptop insurance cover?

Our Apple MacBook/ laptop insurance has key benefits, including:

• Accidental Damage cover including Liquid Damage: For those times you accidentally get your Apple MacBook wet (because you spilt your drink all over the keys, for example)
• Overseas travel: where you go, your laptop can go too.
• Mechanical breakdown: if you get the dreaded black screen.

What isn’t covered?

• Loss or theft
• Unauthorised data and downloads if there has been a delay in reporting the device lost or stolen

Protect Your Gadget has different levels of cover depending on how much protection you need.

Protect Your Gadget also offers a multi-gadget policy which provide cover for all the other gadgets you own, likes Kindles and iPads.

Things to look out for when buying gadget insurance

We think we have the perfect product for you when it comes to Protect Your Gadget insurance.

When you are thinking of buying gadget insurance with Protect Your Gadget, you should consider:

Excesses
An excess is the contribution you are asked to make towards a claim. There may be different excesses for different types of claim, so check the policy summary to see what they are (we make this information really clear on our policy details pages).

Is it pre-owned?
We insure gadgets that are purchased new or refurbished from a UK Vat registered company and that are up to 7 months old for a single gadget or no more than 36 months old when purchased with our bundles.

If it’s pre-owned:

We can insure gadgets that are purchased new or refurbished from a UK Vat registered company and that are no more than 36 months old when purchased.

We can also insure your gadgets if they were purchased second hand or gifted to you, provided that you have the original proof of purchase and a signed letter from the original owner confirming that you own the gadget(s).

The signed letter must include the following details of your gadget(s):

• either the IMEI or serial number (whichever is applicable);
• the make and model;
• the sale price of the gadget (if purchased second hand);
• confirmation that the gadget(s) were in good condition and full working order at the time of sale.

Wear and tear
Policies won't pay out for normal wear and tear, or cosmetic damage like scratches.

Virus damage
If your system gets wiped out by a virus, you won't be able to claim to get the damage repaired, or for any other loss relating to the virus.

It's not all about insurance...

For most people the most valuable thing about their device is not the physical device itself but the data that's on it.

Protecting this needn't cost you any money at all.

Ensure that you frequently back up your music, files, photos, videos, contacts and other data. Consider cloud storage options for your data as well as physical backups such as home computers or hard disk drives.