For most users, the first time you hear of laptop insurance, it almost sounds kind of silly.
Of course, if you just spent a couple grand buying the laptop of your choice and then decking it out with all the extra RAM, the best software, and the newest graphics card you can find, then the whole idea starts to make a little more sense.
Laptop security measures really only go so far. Even if you have one of those cool thumbprint detectors, a smart thief can reduce your laptop to parts and use whatever he needs, and a dumb thief will just throw it off a bridge in frustration. Either way, laptop security measures are designed to protect your privacy, not your property (or did you really think that anti-glare security film was really gonna do the job?).
So the short answer to the question, “do I need laptop insurance”, would be yes. But you could get a more accurate answer by asking “how badly do I need laptop insurance?”
If you’ve got a junky second hand laptop you bought off your cousin for two hundred bucks just so you could have something portable to write on… don’t worry about it. Eventually, you’d be paying more than it’s worth to cover yourself.
On the other hand, if your laptop cost you a pay check and a half, insuring it against theft and damage is a pretty good idea.
Here’s something else you need to consider: How much is all that software on your laptop worth? If you’ve still got the CD-ROM hanging around somewhere, you don’t need to worry about it, but anything you downloaded, anything you don’t have another copy of somewhere, it doesn’t seem like you’re spending that much on software when it’s a little here and a little there, but it adds up.
Another thing is that you’ll want to reinsure your laptop for the new value whenever you add more RAM, put in a new graphics card, replace the screen, etcetera. It’s a little like insuring a home, you want to make sure your full investment is covered, from the initial cost to the thousands of dollars of work you put into remodelling the kitchen.
It seems like a bit of a hassle, and yeah, it’s paperwork to fill out, payments to make, and receipts to hold onto, but it’s worth it in the long run. It’s not hard to steal a laptop, nor is it inconceivable that your laptop might be damaged in any number of otherwise minor mishaps. If your laptop has enough actual value that you’d want to be covered in case something happens to it, laptop insurance really is a good idea.
