You can’t imagine it without it these days: the laptop. Your handy and easily portable friend is full of important and personal information. We use it for social media, online shopping, and sending a last-minute bottle of wine to your birthday aunt, but also for more serious matters such as school and work.
It is, therefore, disastrous if your laptop is stolen! A laptop is simply easier to steal than a gigantic square computer from 1990 that you can’t easily take with you in your backpack. We can already hear you thinking: “My laptop won’t get stolen; I’m always careful!”. Unfortunately, many others think the same and realize afterward that it would have been useful to ensure their laptop.
Hopefully, all your data is in the Cloud – but who will cover the damage if something happens to your beloved laptop? Is laptop theft covered by the manufacturer’s warranty? And what about other annoying situations such as water damage or short circuit?
Here are all the answers to your laptop-related questions:
- Are laptops covered by home insurance?
- Who is liable for damage to a work laptop?
- Does the warranty of my laptop count as insurance?
- Is laptop insurance worth it?
- My laptop has been stolen! What now?
Is my laptop insured under household insurance?
Home contents insurance covers the items in your home. It doesn’t matter whether this is your grandmother’s old crockery or your new sofa. What is covered by your home AT&T insurance policy is very simple. When you move, everything that can be put in the removal van falls under your household effects. Your laptop can also be put in the removal van and is, in principle, part of your household effects.
Unfortunately, this rule is not completely foolproof. In practice, there are often exceptions for mobile electronics. It is not uncommon these days to have multiple (expensive) electronic devices. That is why many home insurance companies have limited the damage coverage of mobile equipment such as telephones, laptops, and smartwatches. For this reason, it is important to check the conditions of your insurance carefully. If you know what is and what is not insured, you will not be faced with unexpected and unpleasant surprises.
Many insurers also do not offer cover for falls and impact damage on the all-risk household insurance. Sometimes you can take out additional cover so that you are still insured for fall and impact damage (often with a mandatory deductible !).
Nevertheless, many household insurance companies cover your mobile electronics, including your laptop, against damage such as fire, explosion, burglary, and water damage. With Lemonade, you are also insured against lightning, smoke, robbery, storm, and hail. You can read more about this in Policy 2.0, the radically simplified, modernized, and digitized insurance policy for the 21st century.
Some home insurance companies have completely excluded mobile electronics from their home insurance and offer separate mobile electronics insurance to protect your valuable devices.
So it actually comes down to the fact that you first have to think carefully about what you find important/need and then find an insurer that offers a policy that suits you.
Who is liable for damage to a work laptop?
Whether it’s COVID-19 or not – working in an office is no longer as standard as it used to be. Many of us work from home, in a cafe, or in the library. This means that there is a higher chance of damage to your work laptop, and it increases the chance of theft. For example, your daughter accidentally spills apple juice on your keyboard, or a thief takes your laptop when you’re not paying attention in a cafe for a while.
In the Netherlands, the employer is, in principle, responsible for company equipment such as the use of a company laptop or smartphone. Most user agreements do state that the employee is liable for damage or theft in the event of negligence or reckless conduct.
As always, you can check the policy conditions whether or not your work laptop is insured. Most insurers don’t do this, but as always, there are exceptions. Some insurance companies do insure borrowed and rented items from the employer on the home insurance policy (as long as they are used in your home).
Is the warranty on my laptop not enough?
Not a silly question. Why would you need insurance if you just have a warranty on your laptop? First, let’s explain what warranties are available when you buy a laptop. There are a total of three different types of laptop warranties:
- Carry-in warranty: This standard warranty only covers technical problems that arise through no fault of your own. Situations in which there is theft, accidental damage, and defects to your laptop are therefore not covered. This warranty is included as standard with the purchase of your new laptop.
- Pick up and return guarantee: this guarantee is recommended if you use your laptop for more than just Netflix and online shopping. With this warranty, the manufacturer will collect the laptop from you. This saves you a trip to the post office to send in your laptop!
- Onsite warranty: if your laptop stops working due to a technical problem, the manufacturer will try to solve the problem remotely. If this fails, they will come by the next working day to see if they can fix the laptop onsite. If this also fails, your laptop will be taken for repair, and you will receive a temporary laptop that you can use until your device works again.
Although these three types of guarantees are useful in the event of a technical problem, unfortunately, they are not really useful in the event of damage or theft. With insurance, you have cover against multiple risks, and you will not suffer a major financial loss if something bad does happen. You cannot use a laptop warranty instead of laptop insurance.
Tip: The warranty is often valid for a few years (usually one or two). Keep this in mind when choosing the warranty that suits you best!
Is laptop insurance worth it?
So, is laptop insurance really necessary? In most cases, it is not really worth taking out separate laptop insurance. Most damage to a laptop is covered by the contents insurance. That is why in most cases, it is recommended to check the policy conditions of your home contents insurance.
Do you also want to be insured against theft? You can add the anti-theft package to your policy at Lemonade. With this package, you have worldwide coverage against theft (also abroad!). So if you’re in a cafe or on vacation and your laptop is stolen, you just have to cover for it.
Tip: always report it to the police if your laptop is stolen! You can do this online or at the police station.
My laptop has been stolen! What now?
Whether you use your laptop for work or for study, you need it almost every day. If it has been stolen, it is, of course, obvious that you will be quite disappointed, but what exactly should you do when reality has set in?
- Search for yourself first! Maybe you accidentally left the laptop somewhere, and you can easily find it. Most Windows laptops and MacBooks offer a search option that allows you to see the location of your laptop.
- Always report to the police if your laptop has been stolen! You can do this online or at the police station. You also need this declaration when submitting a claim to your insurer. Make sure you have the details of your laptop with you when filing the tax return.
- Register your laptop in the Stolen Objects Register. If you register your laptop here, you make it more difficult for thieves to resell the laptop on, for example, Marktplaats.
- File a claim with your insurer. You can submit your claim to Lemonade quickly and easily via the Lemonade app. Click the “claim” button, record a short video explaining what happened, answer some questions, and voila – you have successfully submitted your claim.
