[comp.sys.mac] Insurance for Computers, Software, Synthesizers, etc.! HELP!

steve@hpiacla.HP.COM (Steve Witten) (02/13/88)

I agree with the previous respondent...get a new homeowners insurance company.
Your homeowners insurance should cover your computer but it will not cover
software (or records or tapes) without a serious catalog of the value and the
replacement cost.  Replacement cost is easy to prove if you keep all your re-
ceipts for software purchases.  Records and tapes are another story...I have
an extensive record collection that would be wiped out in a fire...

You can buy extra insurance to cover things like this but it is very expensive
and generally not worth it unless you can actually replace the items that get
damaged.  In the case of my software, I have all my receipts so the replacement
would be covered under my standard policy.  In the case of my records, I could
never replace a great deal of them so I don't bother insuring them...one of the
risks of being a collector I guess...

P.S.  If you decide to get a new homeowners insurance policy, shop around by
phone first.  You will be surprised at how much rates and terms will vary.  If
the agent WILL NOT give you a quote over the phone, forget the company!  The
quote is an ESTIMATE of your premium and you can negotiate exact terms when you
meet with the agent to review/sign the policy and hand him yer dough.

===============================================================================
Steve Witten
Industrial Applications Center  {ucbvax, hplabs}!hpda!hpdsla!hpiacla!steve
Hewlett-Packard Co.             steve@hpiacla.HP.COM

"...Did you trade a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?..."

rmh@apple.UUCP (Rick Holzgrafe) (02/16/88)

In article <4860005@hpiacla.HP.COM> steve@hpiacla.HP.COM (Steve Witten) writes:
>Your homeowners insurance should cover your computer but it will not cover
>software (or records or tapes) without a serious catalog of the value and the
>replacement cost.

A cheap form of insurance for software and data is a safe-deposit box.
I keep my *most critical* stuff in a box at my bank.  Not full backups,
just what would be impossible or particularly expensive to replace.

Alternatively, make a deal with a friend: you keep his backups, he keeps
yours.  The best insurance against disaster is off-site storage.

==========================================================================
Rick Holzgrafe			 | {sun,voder,nsc,mtxinu,dual}!apple!rmh
Communications Software Engineer | AppleLink HOLZGRAFE1    rmh@apple.com
Apple Computer, Inc.		 | "All opinions expressed are mine, and
20525 Mariani Ave. MS: 27-Y	 | do not necessarily represent those of
Cupertino, CA 95014		 | my employer, Apple Computer Inc."