Insurance for Electronics - The Bear and Badger

Elmlea

I have some. It's new for old, apparently, and has a small excess. So when the iMac fell off its desk and subsequently refused to boot, I didn't worry too much. After all, I pay a specific extra premium for this listed computer with its defined value, so it shouldn't be too problematic to get a claim started.Â

And it wasn't. But, despite paying for a "new for old" policy, they want to have it inspected to check it's not repairable. I suspect the HDD's dead so there's a slim chance it might be repairable. I asked if the fact it wasn't a user-replaceable part made a difference, and they just told me to "take it to someone to get it inspected" and forward on what they said. I asked who it had to be, and they said "anyone" would do.Â

So, where do I stand morally here? Do I take it to Apple, pay for an expensive inspection, and then ream myself by getting a cheap repair job done? Or, considering I've spent Â£X per month for 4 years on the insurance, do I just get the dodgiest computer shop in town/my mate to write something saying it's not economically repairable, and get a new one?

Elmlea

Edit to add; they've said if it can't be economically repaired, they'll exercise the new for old bit of the policy and pay for whatever the inspector recommends is the current equivalent. This would obviously be nice.

regmcfly

It is, as you have said yourself. A moral decision. It depends whether you feel you put x into insurance because you wish to protect your possessions, or if you put x into your insurance with the idea that you feel entitled to get some of that back when claiming.

To be honest, you've covered all the options, and it's ultimately up to you.

Paul the sparky

Get a new one. There will come a time when something happens that you thought was covered by insurance, only to find out that there's a loop hole and you'll have to stump up any fees.Â

Also, what does the 4 years worth of monthly payments add up to? Does it cover the cost of a new one?

mistercrayon

Maybe its worth finding out howmuch apple would charge for the repair? Might cost more than the item cost when you consider shipping/diagnosis/labour and parts.

Kow

A moral decision with an insurance company? I don't fucking think so.

Kow

As any insurance company will use the exact conditions of the policy to avoid giving you money if possible, then it seems reasonable that you do the same and do exactly as they say, go to any shop and get your new machine.

mk64

You already know what I'm going to advise

Mod74

How the hell do you knock an iMac off a desk?

g.man

Sexy time.

Mod74

Think Elm needs to take a step back and think about the extent of his Apple love.

Skerret

mk64 wrote:

You already know what I'm going to advise

He's already married.

adkm1979

Elmlea wrote:

...they said "anyone" would do.

Ask me.

Or, if it's got to be somebody in the States, ask Nim. Â If it's got to be an adult in the States, ask Nic.

regmcfly

Bwahaha. "is daddy's Mac broken?"

*pours apple juice on keyboard*

Elmlea

mistercrayon wrote:

Maybe its worth finding out howmuch apple would charge for the repair? Might cost more than the item cost when you consider shipping/diagnosis/labour and parts.

Apple want about 50% of the cost of a new one just to assess and change out the HDD. If the motherboard's dead as well it'll outstrip the base cost of a new one.Â

First Apple reseller I rang said that as the HDD and motherboard aren't "user repairable" parts they'd just recommend a new one. I think if I point out said new one would come from them, they'd probably put that in writing. We'll see!

Also, Adkm, they did indeed just say "get it inspected." Not by Apple, not by a computer shop, just by "someone." Maybe I should get my mate with a computer science degree to switch it on, say "no, it's broken," and send them that....?

JMW

I've taken two machines to the Apple Store for repairs and both times they assessed how much it'd be before getting my go-ahead, no commitment.

JMW

Also, one of those was for an insurance claim.

Elmlea

I took it to a local non-Apple but Apple-certified repairer, as it was just 5 mins round the corner.Â

It's borked. They couldn't get it to boot, but were surprised that half the time it'd randomly fail to even get to the restore/safe mode screen, it'd just switch off. They tried booting from an external HDD, and had no luck there, until it randomly did once. Disk utility said the main HD was unrepairable, but they weren't happy with a straight HD swap as it wasn't reliably starting.Â

Then it started failing to boot from the external again, and only making it to the restore screen once every 4-5 attempts. They took it apart a little, and have diagnosed an HD failure in concert with either a SATA failure or a motherboard failure/problem, and recommended I get it replaced. Hurrah!

It was a 2008 20" Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz with 4Gb RAM and a 320Gb HD. After some handwringing about what to recommend as a replacement, they decided that as that was the smallest screen with one up from base model on processor, RAM and HD space, they've emailed my inured a recommending they give me the same point in the current range, which will conveniently cost about what I originally paid for this iMac.Â

So, wait and see. They've recommended a 21.5" 2.7GHz i5 with 8Gb RAM and a 2TB HD, so I can't wait to see what hoops the insurance company make me jump through to actually get some sort of replacement....!

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