Nowadays our houses and lives are built around our electronics. We can’t imagine working without our laptops, tablets, or cellphones, that were one of them to be stolen, damaged, or lost, we’d feel like we’re missing a hand. Our devices are part of us because even when we’re away from our devices, it’s like they’re still working in the background for us.
So what happens when your favorite and most useful electronic items are damaged or stolen? Don’t settle for buying a new one or fixing it on your own. You may have already heard about protection plans, warranties, and laptop accidental damage insurance. What do these words really mean for you, though? What they all have in common is that they offer you a sense of security for your electronic items. Here’s your complete guide to all these things, so you’ll never have to worry again!
Insurance of Laptop
Laptop insurance is very common these days and especially laptop insurance for students. It is important now more than ever due to the digitization trends of colleges and universities. And in a post-COVID world, businesses and schools are operating more through digital means, which leads to an increased need for laptop insurance. Your laptop is your new co-worker and study buddy, and now is the time to insure it.
Insurance of laptops can vary from the coverage of theft, loss, and damage to device errors and system failures. The first one is perhaps already covered by your home insurance plan. This is a good time to recheck your insurance plan and whether it covers your electronics. You can get specific electronic and laptop coverage from private insurance companies, if your bank plan doesn’t offer it.
The second type of insurance is one that not everyone usually has, because it’s an additional plan to get. Nevertheless, its increase in popularity among consumers shows that it is a worthwhile purchase. This type of insurance is called an extended warranty or protection plan.
Cell Phone Insurance
Cell phone insurance works similar to laptop insurance. There are many reputable warranty plans offered by private insurers, which provide services for cell phones as well. A lot of companies offer coverage for any and all your devices.
Protection Plan
Protection plans are one of the easiest ways to protect your phone or laptop from damage and loss. It’s a general term to describe long-term protection for a device, which also includes warranties. Cell phone carriers usually offer protection add-ons to your monthly bill, so most likely you won’t have to go through another provider. The average price for these are $10 to $20 monthly for one phone.
Protection plans will grant phone replacements, repairs on cracked screens and repairs to damage caused by drops. Unlike warranties, there is no expiry of the protection. As long as you pay monthly to the plan, you will have that insurance.
Warranties
You can get warranties on basically any kind of electronic device. Warranties give you insurance that help you if your device stops working properly or at all.
Limited warranties are one-time purchases, at the time of the purchase of the item, which cover your item only from manufacturing defects. These warranties are only valid for a certain amount of time and do not cover damage from accidents or misuse. They are usually several months to a few years.
Extended warranties are insurance policies or protection plans for laptops, cell phones, and other devices that protect you for manufacturing defects, damage, system failures, and more for a longer time. This is the accidental damage insurance for laptops that students should keep an eye out for. To buy extended warranties, you can get them through the company that made your device or a private insurance company that sells warranties.
Where to get Insured for Electronics?
Home Insurance
Your home insurance plan might already cover your electronic items. This may not be the case for you if you’re a student, though. Many students looking for electronic and laptop insurance are renting. Renters’ insurance is the equivalent of home insurance for renters.
For both homeowners and renters, contents insurance is the type of insurance that will cover your personal belongings in your home. Keep an eye out for this word and mention your electronic items to your insurer.
To learn more about tenant insurance in British Columbia, visit this website.
Laptop Insurance for College Students
Laptop insurance for students is becoming a trend and common item on students’ back to school checklists. This is because laptops are used to the max during the school terms, and there are some things that home and renters insurance doesn’t cover. Remember that home and renters insurance that cover electronics is for damage, theft, and loss. It doesn’t cover the manufacturing defects and internal errors. For software and hardware damage, you need a different kind of insurance called a warranty or protection plan. These kinds of plans specifically cover damage including device failures, defects, software damage, and glitching caused by spills or dropping.
You can usually get laptop insurance tailored to students from private insurance plans offered online. These are usually a lot cheaper than bank plans, but will have coverage limited to devices of your choice.
Business Insurance
It’s highly recommended that personal laptop and cellphone owners get their devices insured, and it is likewise recommended for business owners. Businesses use a lot of expensive tech to keep their company running so it’s imperative to protect it. Your business should absolutely get an extended warranty. There are a lot of devices in the office that are used for long hours every day, and chances are there are going to be problems with at least a few of them.
Also, for those who run in-home businesses, it’s necessary to add your electronics as business items. Since they are treated as business property, they aren’t included in your home insurance.
Conclusion
There are differing opinions on electronic insurance. One thing to keep in mind is that while you are shopping around for insurance, it seems like a lot of extra expenses, but it could be a complete life-saver one day.
One thing for sure is that if your personal devices are cheaper and older, it may not be worth thinking further. If you’re an everyday user on a lower-end laptop, tablet, or phone, you may not need it, considering that your chances of damage are so low.
Insurance and protection is mainly ideal for business owners, students or those using high-end, expensive tech, because for those cases, damage, theft, or loss is an ultimate disaster.