YOU are exactly the kind of buyer that probably should buy laptop insurance, so that’s fine.

You’ve got a special edition version, you have no income to support its purchase, maintenance, or loss, and you’re living in a high-risk area for theft.

Also, younger people tend to be a bit less careful. I know many people your age who have lost iPods, computers, GPSs, Car Stereos, and even cars, due to a certain “lack of focus” that comes later with age.

So yes, I would take your example as a good exception to look into buying laptop insurance. It’s still a waste of money, and common sense and attentiveness can be substituted, but I understand that people are sometimes focused on other things in their lives and are not always able to protect their belongings.

Go for it.

I’m moving into a college dorm. I’m 22. I bought my laptop for my birthday; it’s the most expensive thing I’ve bought to date. The design on it is unique and it came factory with a dragon on the back of it ( it’s the HP Artist’s Edition laptop).

I’ll be DAMNED if I do not insure it against theft, AND I’m buying a laptop safe to lock it up just for good measure. I don’t trust ANYBODY. Better safe than sorry, I say–considering I’m taking a major income decrease by not working full time, I won’t be able to buy another one of this laptop if it is stolen or compromised in any way.

And again, you are wrong.

1. First of all, you simply ignore statistics and probability. You CANNOT simply agree with, the statement “chances are yours won’t be stolen” and then say “but when they are…” You’re saying that BOTH are correct, and that’s an contradiction. So you have no logic at all in your discussion there.

2. Secondly, any account that is CRITICAL to your business, you simply don’t use online access for, strong passwords or not. It is STUPID to rely on “passwords” to protect your critical finances. Even if your password is “strong”, it can be stolen by sources inside or outside the institution you are using.

I have separate accounts for onilne banking that I keep minimal amounts in. If they are compromised, it is not that important. My major business accounts have NO online access, therefore passwords are not necessary.

3. One SHOULDN’T worry about losing credit cards or having them compromised. Simply keep track of the activities on them, and if anything unauthorized shows up, you are only responsible for up to $50 of it when you report it – no big deal if/when it happens. Identity theft is an entirely different subject, and has nothing to do with lost or stolen credit cards (just in case you bring that up.)

4. You also MISS the idea about the stats about missing and stolen data, it is much MORE likely to happen, then you losing any actual hardware to theft. Where do you not understand this? One is very likely, the other is not – simple, I thought.

5. You ALSO miss the concept that if a laptop is being used for business, the ENTIRE cost of it is either deductible as an expense, or able to be 100% depreciated over time as an asset. Either way, the cost is paid for by YOU the taxpayer, as it reduces our businesses’ taxable income. Thank you.

However, if your laptop is simply for home use, then of course you do not have this benefit. Of course if you do not have a home-based business of some kind to take advantage of these tax breaks, then you are throwing money away, but that is for another discussion.

6. Also note that many laptop insurance companies have high deductables, won’t cover many peripheral devices that you may have linked to or installed in your laptop, and they may have “special situations and locations”, where you will not get paid at all if they deem you to be careless or in an “unapproved” location. Insurance companies DON’T make money by paying you for your claim – they make money by avoiding it at any cost.

Your advice is inexperienced and not backed up by useful solid data. Most forms of product insurance are a waste of money and of no use to the consumer. Liability insurance for your home and car, life insurance for your family, disability insurance, and health insurance, though all overpriced, are of much greater value.

I WILL agree that if you are personally very clumsy, irresponsible as far as physical security, or simply a nervous personality, than go ahead and get laptop insurance for piece of mind, people do stranger things.

Service contract and product insurance companies LOVE people like you who don’t do the research to determine that you are simply giving them free money for which you will never receive anything of value in return.

But feel free to keep giving them revenue if you like, maybe it will help stimulate the economy, and for that I will salute you!

The hardware/software part of the equation is easily repaired or replaced, especially for business owners who can expense them on their taxes. Online software is EASILY replaced by the original vendor, and offline stuff is now mostly available as downloads as well. Reconfiguring is no fun, but there are back up schemes for that as well.

So what’s the much LARGER problem with a laptop? Loss of data, due to hardware/software breakdowns, or other corruptions or thefts. Insurance cannot help with any of these situations, only a regularly scheduled backup process to removable media, and online storage.

Put a DATA BACKUP scheme in place, and forget making insurance companies rich by draining small amounts off your revenue stream.

NO insurance is necessary, except where mandated by law, but that’s another topic for another time.

Look forward to hearing from you. Have a blessed day.