House insurance: accidental damage

[darwin]

Hi..my wife dropped her laptop the other day and smashed the screen. I've put in a claim for it on our house insurance policy as we are covered for accidental damage. The laptop was purchased from the US off ebay, so I've no retail receipt for it. I was not asked the value of the laptop, just how old it was. A replacement screen looks to be about 400 to 500 euro. Does anyone know how these things are generally settled, i.e. are such things usually repaired or do we get the current market value? Also, how will it be valued as its 2-3 years old, but has had various upgrades. Thanks for any help...

 

[ClubMan]

Many policies require that individual high value items (which can mean anything worth around €1K or more in some cases) must be itemised and/or insured as all risks items. Check your poicy for details. On the other hand many accidental damage policies cover things on a new for old replacement basis meaning that if your laptop is covered they may just allow you to buy an equivalent new one. Why not just wait to see how your claim goes?

 

[slave1]

I fell in the driveway getting out of the car with the laptop in my hands and made bits of it.
It was old and a present so I had no receipt.
My policy is new for old replacement for accidental damage.
I obtained 3 different prices for a reasonably similar laptop off the net and submitted a claim.
The ins. co sent around an Insurance Adjuster and they had a look at the laptop and took copies of my quotes.
They got back about a week later with a slightly lower quote than my lowest, which I accepted as settlement - less my excess of course.
I made sure the lowest of my 3 quotes was well acceptable for me.
All in all, painless.