Are iPods too risky to insure?
Posted by Dr. Macenstein
British Insurance agency Hiscox estimates Apple is likely to sell 9.4 million iPods this holliday season. To that end, Hiscox has released a memo urging customers to reevaluate their insurance policies this month to make sure they cover their iPods and their purchased music incase of loss or theft.
According to Hiscox, “Recent figures show that muggings and snatch thefts of iPods in London have increased more than fivefold since last November, all the more reason for owners to ensure they have adequate insurance. “
Apparently, most insurance policies do not cover iPods, portable music players, or even portable computers, as they are all too easy to steal. Kevin Kerridge, Head of Direct Business at Hiscox points out that due to the ever growing storage capacity of the iPods, “Music fans stand to lose both their iPod or MP3 player and their music library if their player is stolen. Unless their songs are backed up on a PC, the cost could be huge. For example an iPod mini or nano can store 1,000 songs which can cost 79p each to download. This means a full library could be worth up to £790.â€?
According to the press release, “Most standard home contents insurance policies exclude portable electronic equipment and limit data reinstatement to fixed home computers. Conversely Hiscox will not only insure portable computer equipment as a standard part of its all-risks worldwide contents cover, but will also pay up to £2,500 towards the cost of buying back any irretrievable music if it is not stored on the hard drive of a computer. This means that iPod users do not have to suffer the double loss of hardware and content. ”
Says Kerridge , “To lose both an iPod and your own personal music library without any insurance is a frustrating and unnecessary double whammy. Consumers should make sure they are covered by their contents insurance.�
Thanks to reader Zardoz for calling this to our attention.
Probably cheaper to buy another iPod than pay for the policy.
Man I hate insurance…
First of all…
Who has music on their iPod that ISN’T on their computer? That’s how iTunes works… music on the computer and it’s COPIED to the iPod. And like the above comment says, it’s probably just cheaper to purchase a new iPod, especially when replacing purchased music is taken out of the equation. Sounds like FUD to me…
Nonsense; if you’ve got a decent home contents insurance then you’ll be covered for a single item up to about £250 away from the home (that will cover an iPod). I had my bag snatched last year (without having used the iPod on the way home; he just got lucky) and the insurance company replaced my iPod without blinking;
As for the ‘laptop’ coverage, again, most companies will cover you for it, in and out of the home, worldwide for about £20 a year on your premium.
I actually put a copy of all my purchased music up on a server, so in theory if all my music gets lost or stolen or if Bigfoot sets my house on fire, I can still access it.
Most insurance companies WILL sell you Bigfoot insurance as well, and the premiums are quite reasonable when you consider the risks..
Loose all your music? I don’t think so. This company is obviously out of touch with how young people use their technology but want to scare a few into taking out unnecessary policies.
iPods are not that expensive and get updated every few months. If mine got stolen I’d cry for a day or so and then go out and buy the newest model. In this case, the one with Video capabilities which my current model (iPod Photo 30gb) doesn’t have.
Besides, Sony PSP’s are at much higher risk as they are held in your hand rather than tucked away in a bag or a pocket as iPods usuaully are.
i wish i could insure my iphone, its so expensive if i need to replace it, too bad there are no american companies ive heard of thatll do it.