Hi there,

New here so bear with me! I have a laptop which my GF stood on during one of her careless moments. She was waiting for a taxi to go out, looked out the window and turned round, standing on the corner in her heels.

Result - Cracked screen. I hooked it up to an external monitor to see what the extenet of damage was, and it appears to keep hanging when accessing applications.

Im insured with Sainsburys/Halifax, and put a claim in on my home insurance. They did an interview on the phone, then asked me to take it somewhere at my expenses to get a damage report (they called it cause of damage report) and an estimate for repair and for replacement. I took it to a local firm, who have sent it off. They said they can report the damage, but they never heard of a cause of damage report, as they said they werent there so couldnt comment.

Laptop is 8 months old, cost £700 new in sale, so more like £900 value.

A few questions i have are:

1) Can i reclaim the cost of the report from the insurer?

2) Whats the likely outcome, repair or replacement?

3) Do they issue cash to pay for repair, or pay the shop?

4) Do they issue replacement unit, or give cash to buy one?

5) I got quotes for replacement, they came in at £800/£900.

Thanks!

1) You really need to read your policy wording - it can say that you incurr the costs to provide a report - Majority of large insurance companies sub contract to a contents team which do it for them and therefore the insured does not get charged (other than excess). If you provide the link to your insurance policy, I will have a look through it.

2) This really depends on the report - if it is more cost affective to replace then they will - taking into account that laptop prices are dropping like a stone at the moment.

3) Again this is down to your Insurance Policy - I know that some policies state that there "preferred method of payment" is sent to you but in the name of the shop. This is normally up for debate as some insureds wish to buy more expensive products so the insurer can cash settle at their discretion.

4) I'm not too sure how your insurer works but from what you have stated above, i.e. getting you to obtain a damage report, I would presume they will not replace the laptop for you. They will issue a cheque either in your name or shop.

5) I take it you have submitted these two estimates to Halifax? In order to settle a electrical contents claim, an insurer will normally like to have 2 estimates, a damage report and an original receipt or bank statement showing purchase.

If you got anymore Q's, don't hesitate to ask!

Andy

Thankyou for the very thorough response. I read through the T&Cs online and it says i have to pay to substantiate my claim. £55 the GF will have to pay me!

The only thing that worries me is if say the laptop would be £500 to repair, and as the quotes have been coming in at about £700 to £900 (as mine was £900 reduced to £700 8 months ago and is no longer available) then they would opt to repair it. It is still under warranty though, so by opening it up and repairing, wont they invalidate the last 4 months of warranty.

Also, what if the repair does not fix everything, would they take it into consideration and say opt for replacement?

Thanks

Your quotes may come in at £700-£900 but the insurance company is able to go direct to the seller and enquire around a discount - If a shop accepts a reduced price then they open the chance of further business in the future - so is it really cost effective to repair over replace?

They may not give you the same laptop back - as long as it is as close as possible.

With regard to buildings claims, if repairs are done then the insurance company provides a 1 year warranty, I think this is the same for contents claims where they repair the item - but in your case, the companies you provided estimates for should offer you a certain warranty - most likely more than 4 months..