tempest@walleye.csuchico.edu (Kenneth K.F. Lui) (11/29/90)
Well, it looks like something happened to my message when I
posted it. Here's the full version. [BTW, the problem was a
bug/feature (?) in Pnews. I separated a respondent's reply with
a line consisting of "--" followed by some text and Pnews
obligingly truncated my message. Sorry about the extra
bandwidth.]
Hi,
This is a summary of my request several weeks ago concerning
advice for computer insurance. To recap, I purchased another
system and feel the need to protect my investment (this is for
personal use, like my other system). As a neophyte when it comes
to insurance, I asked for recommendations about specific
companies and what to look out for and what to avoid. Here are
the respondents, in mail-box arrival order (they've been
paraphrased unless noted):
---
- klee@uhunix.uhcc.Hawaii.edu
If the system is small, don't bother with insurance; however, if
what one has large systems [and I take it that many systems count
to be one large system] it would be advisable.
---
- William Moss, gt0831c@prism.gatech.edu
- Gerald A. Edgar, edgar@mps.ohio-state.edu
Get a ride on one's current home/property insurance. [As a matter
of fact, most of the responses recommended that I do this or go
through a traditional insurance company with some modifications.
See other responses.]
---
- Scott J. Bury, sjbury@owlnet.rice.edu
[Scott gave me a description of his insurance policy on $8000
worth of equipment.]
"Inland marine" policy [sic] from State Farm for
electronics and data processing equipment.
The policy protects against theft, power spike damage,
etc, with full replacement.
It costs $100/year.
---
- Jim Gaynor, gaynor@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu
Speak to the agent regarding protecting electronic equipment
because most home-owners' policies don't take them into
consideration. [Jim has a policy with NationWide for
$100/year. It seems as though Scott Bury--above--also has a
"special" for electronic equipment.]
---
- Brian G. Gordon, briang@Eng.Sun.Com
[Brian also recommended that I get a special policy that covers
electronic equipment. It is worth it although the basic premium
may be be increased.]
---
- Annette Myjak, arm@sps.com
[Annette picked up a ride on her standard renter's policy for her
computer equipment. She mentioned that the insurance provider
wouldn't let her have a "business" policy because it was for
personal use. __What's the difference between "personal" and
"business policy??__]
---
- Peter Bye, pbye@ub.d.umn.edu
[Peter recommends St. Paul Company (St. Paul, MN). He says
basically the same thing Annette said.]
---
- Greg Feldman-Hill, gfh@rsch.oclc.edu
[Greg also recommended that I get a policy from my current home
insurance provider.]
---
- William Shirley, WShirley@wesleyan.edu
[William sent me a very informative message about insurance
companies in general. I'll include it in its entirety.]
From daemon Tue Nov 20 09:33:42 1990
>From WSHIRLEY@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU Tue Nov 20 09:33:41 1990
Return-Path: <WSHIRLEY@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU>
Date: 18-NOV-1990 11:46:34.45
From: WSHIRLEY@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU
Subject: insurance
Ken,
The source for insurance company ratings is a book, the 'Gold' book,
which can be found at most librarys. I checked the two or three
most heavly advertised 'computer insurance companies' (after calling
them and finding out who the actual underwriter was) and found that
only one of them was listed and it had a low mark. The integrity of
the underwriter (the comp. which actually will pay you in case of a
loss) is important otherwise you may be sending money and only
getting an imaginary peace of mind. The company Safeware may promise
the world (which it does) but the actually underwriter that it contracts with
(the insurance co. of iowa or whatever) may be in week shape.
In the end I concluded that limited real coverage is more
important than promises to replace erased software. I contacted a
reputable agent in my area and they found a Co (Aetna) which would
include Computers as a rider (an extra item specifically mentioned and
paid for) on a homeowners policy. So the result is that for $160 I
have insurance on all my stuff and Computer. I sleep at nights knowing
that the company will be there tommorrow.
William Shirley
WShirley@wesleyan.edu
--- End of summary ---
Well, that's it. I'll probably go to one of the "big" names and
get a policy that covers electronic equipment, esp. data
processing. I was hoping that the companies that dealt specifically
with computers would have been a better deal, but then nobody who
has a policy with them replied. Perhaps computer-specific
insurance companies are better, perhaps not--I'll never know.
Thanks very much for all the replies I've received; sorry for
taking so long to summarize. * Bing * thanks for playing :-)
Ken
______________________________________________________________________________
tempest@ecst.csuchico.edu, tempest@walleye.ecst.csuchico.edu,|Kenneth K.F. Lui|
tempest@sutro.sfsu.edu, tempest@wet.UUCP |________________|