Electronics Insurance

Electronics Insurance

By Russell Longcore

Does your homeowners or renters insurance cover your electronics?

Do you have a home business? There are millions of home businesses... everything from home daycare to a service business to multilevel marketing businesses. Many times, those entrepreneurs own office electronics for their home business. Do you use your computers and other electronics for any kind of home business?

What happens if your desktop or laptop computer is stolen, either from home or away from home? Is the theft covered by your homeowners’ insurance policy?

If you're carrying your laptop through an airport anywhere in America, your laptop is at huge risk for theft. What if your laptop is stolen while you're in the airport?

Are your personal electronics covered? Yes, but only for the following perils:

• Fire or lightning
• Windstorm or Hail
• Explosion
• Riot or Civil Commotion
• Aircraft (not in aircraft, but if aircraft fall on your stuff.)
• Vehicles (not in vehicles, but if vehicles crash into your stuff.)
• Smoke
• Vandalism or Malicious Mischief
• Theft
• Falling Objects (stuff falling onto your stuff)
• Weight of Ice, Snow or Sleet
• Accidental Discharge or Overflow of Water or Steam
• Sudden and Accidental Tearing Apart or Bursting (of a steam or hot water system).
• Freezing
• Sudden and Accidental Damage from an Artificially Generated Electrical Current
• Volcanic Eruption

If your laptop or other portable electronics are stolen from your car, there is no coverage under your Auto insurance for the theft.

How about other kinds of damage that your computer might sustain?

• Accidental damage, such as dropped equipment, falls, liquid spills and auto collisions.
• Water damage

In the Homeowners and Renters policies, under the "Property Not Covered" section, "business data, including data stored in computers and related equipment" is not covered.

COMPUTER AND PERSONAL ELECTRONICS INSURANCE

The leading company in the world for computer and portable electronics insurance is Safe ware Insurance.

If you own:

• Desktop or Laptop Computers
• Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
• Smart phones
• Digital cameras
• MP3 players
• Scanners/Faxes/Copiers
• Printers
• DVD players
• Flash drives
• Servers
• External hard drives
• Digital camcorders
• Peripherals that connect to your computers through an USB port, Fire wire, PCMCIA or another input

All of these electronic products need special insurance coverage not provided in Homeowners or Renters policies.

Business Electronics

Companies whose employees have laptops are naturally concerned with the value of the computer when it is the company that owns the laptop.

The Ponemon Institute, a privacy risk management think tank, released an extensive study in June 2008 entitled "Airport Insecurity: The Case of Missing and Lost Laptops." They studied laptop security at 106 American airports and found that there is an average of 12,000 laptops lost, missing or stolen at American airports PER WEEK! Can you imagine the amount of sensitive personal and business data contained in those laptops? The Identity Theft risks are astronomical.

Safe ware’s policy covers business electronics for the hazards the homeowners, renters or business insurance policy does not cover.

Education Coverage

This policy protects students' computers against Accidental Damage, Theft, Vandalism, Power Surge, and Natural Disasters at any location within the USA, Canada and while in transit.

Small Business Coverage is for any sized business with electronics property values up to $49,999, covering Accidental Damage, Theft, Fire, Vandalism, Power Surge and Natural Disasters.

Commercial Coverage is a group plan for organizations that have electronics property values in excess of $50,000. Coverage can be one of the following: Comprehensive (Accidental Damage, Theft, Fire, Vandalism, Power Surge, and Natural Disasters); Theft ONLY, or Accidental Damage ONLY.

Worldwide Coverage is an endorsement that adds global coverage to your policy for a very low price. Mobile Advantage insures PDAs and smart phones.

LAPTOP RECOVERY COVERAGE

Can you get your stolen laptop back?

There is a way that you can protect your laptop, and then retrieve your laptop after it's been stolen.

Albuquerque police, thanks to a stolen computer loaded with tracking software, arrested three burglary suspects on February 1, 2008. The software is called LoJack for Laptops™, developed by Absolute Software.

Absolute Software is the leader in Computer Theft Recovery, Data Protection and Secure Asset Tracking™ solutions. If the laptop is stolen, you notify your local police and notify the LoJack Recovery Team.