Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!cmcl2!rutgers!mcnc!ecsvax!mvolo From: mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP (Michael R. Volow) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Personal Computer Insurance ? Message-ID: <4302@ecsvax.UUCP> Date: 12 Dec 87 05:07:00 GMT References: <4769@iucs.UUCP> <4689@eecae.UUCP> Organization: UNC Educational Computing Service Lines: 49 Summary: What are business purposes In article <4689@eecae.UUCP>, driscoll@eecae.UUCP (Mike Driscoll) writes: > in article <4769@iucs.UUCP>, bobmon@iucs.UUCP (RAMontante [condition that I not be identified]) says: > > Summary: maybe a rider on your homeowner's insurance? > > > > I purchased a rider on my homeowner's policy (actually, renter's policy) > > that specifically covers my computer stuff -- I had to make out an inventory > > of what was covered (sheesh! That $1300 box is the basis of a $3500 system, > > and I was trying to hold the costs down...) > > > > My impression from the insurance agent is that such riders, for computers as > > well as for other specifically valuable items, is a fairly common option. > > I once received an advertisement from some `computer insurance' > company that said that most homeowner's/renter's policies don't cover > computer equipment that is used for business purposes. Was this just > a scare tactic on their part? Do the riders mentioned cover the > equipment no matter what it is used for? > > > -- > Michael A. Driscoll UUCP: ...ihnp4!msudoc!eecae!driscoll > Dept. of Electrical Engineering ARPA: driscoll@eecae.ee.msu.edu (35.8.8.151) > Michigan State University Office: (517) 353-5337 > E. Lansing, MI, 48824 What are "business purposes"; and how does an insurance company dis- tinguish serious "hobby" user from business purposes? I suppose that a computer maintaining financial records from an income-earning activity is a "business" activity, especially if the computer is used for little else. What about a university faculty member using the computer more- or-less as a typewriter (word processor)? Typewriters used in this way are insurable under homeowner's policies. Does the rider on the homeowner's policy for a computer approach the cost of a standalone computer insurance (e.g. on a $3000 system)? If my $3000 (1984 value) system is now worth about $900 (1987), what should I insure it for? Does this have any effect on whether I should try to persuade my insurance company to cover it under a rider, versus a standalone policy? Could insurance/legal experienced net members give their views on these matters? --Mike Volow, Psychiatry, Durham Veterans Administration Medical Center Durham, NC, 27712 919 383 3568 mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP