Damaged Laptop Covered?

[cdemikols]

This may be a silly question, but I am unable to get in touch with my agent. (Not able to get a call back for a few days).

I have a laptop that has no extended warranty. Recently, with no damage, no dropping or anything, I am getting a red line down my screen. I did some research, tried to fix it and apparently it is just a problem that can go wrong with screens. (Sometimes caused by power surges.)

I don't remember there being a power surge while I was home, but my laptop is plugged in and on when I am not home sometimes. I am not sure if this would be covered in renter's insurance however, Any information would be appreciated greatly; I'm new to Renter's insurance.

 

[djs]

The short answer is probably no coverage.
Laptops are not that susceptible to power surges, which might be covered, but you would have a hard time convincing anyone that a power surge caused a screen problem, since laptops have batteries which act as a big surge suppressor.

Simply put, its a manufacturing defect (or just normal failure), which is not covered under a renters policy.

On the other hand, some renters policies have some very strange provisions that extend special coverage to computers. This is usually an extra cost option, but it may cover this damage. I've personally only seen this on some state farm policies, and its clearly spelled out on the dec page.

Dan

 

[Accelerated]

Most HO-4 (renters) policies do include as a covered peril:
"Sudden and accidental damage from artificially generated electrical current".

That said, they may make you get an expert to sign off on the fact the damage was caused by a surge. All this usually entails is going down to Best Buy with a lightning or surge affidavit and paying them to take a look at the unit in question and getting the form notarized with them, should they determine that surge was the source of the damage.

They (Best Buy) will charge you for it, but if you are correct, and the damage was the result of a surge, you can submit the receipt for the inspection of the unit to the carrier, and it will likely not be turned away (I have never had a problem with reimbursement for receipts like the one I described, but the second I say "they will pay for it", someone won't).

Getting someone to sign off on the cause and origin of the damage is important when it comes to older electronics, since it is extraordinarily common for people to blame electronics failures on "power surges". A great deal of the time, it is simply age and wear that does them in, and it is always best to be sure.

 

[pcbinsurance]

Depending on your deductible, since laptops are so inexpensive, I doubt you would get much back anyway.

 

[Accelerated]

Depending on your deductible, since laptops are so inexpensive, I doubt you would get much back anyway.

Maybe. Some of us own very expensive laptops. For example, I have a custom Qosmio worth about 3k, and there are much more expensive systems out there.

 

[djs]

And then most renters policies have pretty low deductibles as well.

But....

On laptops, its pretty hard to fry anything other than a power supply due to a power surge. The truth is, its almost no chance this was caused by a power surge.

Dan

 

[Accelerated]

And then most renters policies have pretty low deductibles as well.

But....

On laptops, its pretty hard to fry anything other than a power supply due to a power surge. The truth is, its almost no chance this was caused by a power surge.

Dan

I dunno, I have had lightning kill a couple of laptops, to the extent that data recovery was impossible, but when it did, it killed TV's and appliances too...

 

[BcurtisSF]

Need to put things on a personal articles policy (or the non SF equivalent). I have my guns, computers, couple guitars, and my wife's ring on it. No deductible, and if you make a claim it won't go against your homeowners policy.