Comment: Does laptop insurance pay off?

Men are more careless and accident-prone than women. At least, that's the conclusion of a recent press release from one insurance firm. In the battle of the sexes to make insurance claims for notebook PCs, men apparently take the lead with 71 percent of all claims. Obviously, this is meaningless if it turns out that men take out 71 percent of all insurance policies in the first place. But much more interesting was the insurer's list of accidents suffered by its hapless clients.

As you would expect, theft - usually from the back seat of a car - is the number one reason for making a claim. Then come accidents - dropping and knocking notebooks, followed by dropping things onto them, then intriguing mishaps in which clumsy but presumably muscle-bound claimants manage to crack the screens just by opening or closing the lids. Next comes a string of unlikely scenarios in which people trip over or slip onto their notebooks, before a final collection of increasingly bizarre events. These range from reversing a car over a notebook, to dropping the unfortunate machine over a bridge when slapped on the back by a friend, and a face-off with predictable consequences between an LCD screen and a steam iron.

The fact that these claims were honoured demonstrates how far the industry has come. Ten years ago, obtaining any kind of insurance for computer equipment outside business premises was difficult. Most buyers had to resort to the then-rare concept of home-office insurance with special out-of-office cover, and settle the bill themselves. These days, a variety of insurance deals are available for corporate and individual owners of notebook kit.

But now the high-street vendors are moving in on the act in a big way.

Unfortunately, insurance is being sold in the same pushy, point-of-sale - meaning "no think time" - manner used to sell overpriced maintenance cover for hi-fi and video products. They broach the topic of insurance only when you reach the till, while the queuing people behind you look at their watches as you try to read the terms and conditions without the aid of a jeweller's eyeglass. If you say you want to think about it, the cashier offers you a free inkjet printer if you take out the policy there and then.

On closer inspection, the policy invariably fails to cover loss. The likelihood of you actually forgetting your expensive notebook on a bus, train or taxi might seem slight to you now, but there are an alarming number of red-faced Ministry of Defence employees who know it can happen.

Another general exclusion in these policies is "mechanical failure". So, theoretically, you may be covered if the notebook gets struck by St Elmo's Fire or eaten by a sperm whale within three years of purchase, but not if the machine or one of its components simply breaks down outside the manufacturer's 12-month warranty. Corporate policies are not likely to be any better.

Let's face it, insuring a notebook PC is never going to be cheap. But as with all types of insurance, what matters is the extent of the cover. Buyers should do as they would with other insurance policies, and shop around.

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