Is your equipment insured - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 12:34:18 pm
content: Something not many seem to think about, but how many of you have your equipment insured at home for its true value ?.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 01:14:21 pm
content: Not in an individually itemised way but my contents insurance covers any items upto £15k (except for jewellery and ornaments/art, that caps out at £5k) and a total of £250k so that more than covers everything I own.Yeah I'm way over insured but it was the cheapest that covered other peoples stuff and also covered things used for working from home. In fact it's cheaper than my previous contents insurance that topped out at £30k for everything.

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 02:15:05 pm
content: Quote from: Deathwish on July 03, 2015, 12:34:18 pmGeneral principle #1: you will pay more for insurance that you will receive - on average. That's how insurance companies make their profit.General principle #2: if you can afford the loss, don't bother to insure it. If you can't affort the loss (e.g. health, house structure) then do insure against that loss.General principle #3: ignore summaries and the benefits; read the full exclusions in the Ts & Cs. Each and every one is there for a purpose and will be used against you.

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 06:44:24 pm
content: I looked into this some time ago.What some people do not realise is that something like an oscilloscope is considered laboratory equipment and is not recognised as being a normal presence in a domestic environment. This is why the OP has ensured that the insurance covers work related equipment. One nasty issue with having laboratory equipment inside your home, it has been known to provide insurance companies with reasons to invalidate the fire insurance as it is considered a significant fire risk !Insurance can be a complex matter when laboratory equipment is located in the domestic home. Insuring it in a business unit is no problem at all though. Go figureAnother issue is the valuation of the equipment. The insurance company will happily insure your equipment but they will require proof of value in the case of a claim. Such can be challenging if the equipment is bought used. Original purchase receipts are essential. An independent valuation is quite hard to get for test equipment, especially older kit, that may still be very valuable.I have equipment that originally cost many hundreds of thousands of pounds, but cost me a sum in the multi thousands. How does an insurance company place a value on such ? Simple... they do not. You have to prove the amount paid for the equipment and that is all you will have a chance of receiving, if the insurance company does not contest the claim. Insurance companies do not like ebay sales receipts either.... they sometimes only accept receipts from commercial companies.All very complicated and why so many do not insure their equipment. It really needs a specialist broker to dig out a decent policy for you that covers such equipment. In my experience it ends up as a commercial premises insurance and costs a lot of money.Aurora

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 08:10:05 pm
content: I never even considered that. I have about 10k worth of server equipment in my basement. Would typical home insurance cover that? Probably not right? Guessing it would just fall under electronics. I don't have enough test equipment at this point to worry about value but don't insurance give you a lump sum to cover all the items like furniture so could you use that money or is it a very small amount that will barely buy used furniture let alone other items?

author: Macbeth
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 08:24:32 pm
content: Living in a high crime area, my only insurance is my wits, my CCTV, and my dogs.Ironically the "Englishmans Castle" doctrine does not apply in the UK. Still, those pikey bastards can take my Keithley when they pry it from my cold, dead hands...

author: Fraser
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 08:41:23 pm
content: @Red Squirrel,Insurance companies have a view on how many PC's would normally be considered a domestic installation. If you have more than what they consider 'normal' you have to get agreement from them to cover the additional hardware at the time of taking out the insurance.Consider this however........ from an insurance companies standpoint, every piece of electrical and electronic equipment is a potential fire risk, If they think you have a server farm in your basement they may get funny about your fire cover ! In their mind you have increased the risk of fire (and potentially burglary) by having a large number of servers in a domestic setting.As a side note technical specialist insurance companies consider a UPS to be a high fire risk item due to the amount of energy that it holds and its use of an inverter. These can be a nightmare where fire insurance is involved.Aurora

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 03, 2015, 08:44:08 pm
content: I once tried to get direct line to cover my belongings in the house. Here is what happened, they refused to cover my 3 full tower computers even though I had receipts for them as seperate parts from Novatech, the fact I used to build them was no use in that arena, they refused to see them as complete units and tried to say that I had no business cover !. They refused to cover my electronic equipment for the same reason amongst others. When I then tried to tell them I had a sprinkler system in my kitchen ( I was and am paranoid about kitchen fires ) they went mental claiming I had to have it all certified by a relevant authority and that it constituted a flood risk until then . I gave up trying after.

author: Red Squirrel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 09, 2015, 06:38:40 am
content: Quote from: Aurora on July 03, 2015, 08:41:23 pmYeah was thinking that too, I'm probably best to rely on my own monitoring and precautions and simply hope it never happens. Though problem is, there are always things out of my control that could cause a fire like a faulty appliance, and they would probably still try to blame my own setup for it.