Home Insurance - arrrrrrrrrgh !!!

[Lee H]

A few weeks ago ( about 3 ) we had a little mishap at my new home where the pipe that feeds the water to the shower came apart under the bath and caused water to seep through the roof onto my PC below.

Now - I contacted my home insurance and my housemates dad ( thank god he's a plumber ) and he fixed the pipe but there was naff all he could, or anyone for that matter do for my PC that now resembled a lian-li aquarium but with plaster pieces instead of fish.

2 days later an insurance assessor came and assessed the "damage" to the PC. They totally wrote it off as it was on at the time, and inside now looks funky. Recently they have contacted myself to say they want to send me the parts or a pre-built system.

But what really annoyed me was the fact this was a legit claim yet from the outset they treat you like you are the serial claimer of the west who claims for everything under the sun. Why do they do this, I suppose I should add the the the thread of hates further down

So - should I tell them no I work for a retailer that sells parts - gimme the cash and let me build my new PC (so I know whats in it) or should I accept their rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishe system offer that is totally inferior in many ways to my deceased PC.

[malfunction]

A few weeks ago ( about 3 ) we had a little mishap at my new home where the pipe that feeds the water to the shower came apart under the bath and caused water to seep through the roof onto my PC below.

Now - I contacted my home insurance and my housemates dad ( thank god he's a plumber ) and he fixed the pipe but there was naff all he could, or anyone for that matter do for my PC that now resembled a lian-li aquarium but with plaster pieces instead of fish.

2 days later an insurance assessor came and assessed the "damage" to the PC. They totally wrote it off as it was on at the time, and inside now looks funky. Recently they have contacted myself to say they want to send me the parts or a pre-built system.

But what really annoyed me was the fact this was a legit claim yet from the outset they treat you like you are the serial claimer of the west who claims for everything under the sun. Why do they do this, I suppose I should add the the the thread of hates further down

So - should I tell them no I work for a retailer that sells parts - gimme the cash and let me build my new PC (so I know whats in it) or should I accept their rubbishrubbishrubbishrubbishe system offer that is totally inferior in many ways to my deceased PC.

Either insist on 'named parts' (chipset and manufacturer) or agree on a (possibly lower) value for cash - or even a 'credit note' at Scan if that can be arranged. That way you can choose what you want and they can be 100% sure that you aren't just taking the money. Try and explain that you are knowledgable and want to make sure you get like for like.

Or say that you'd sooner have the cash equivalent so that you can add to it yourself and buy something more up to date - and that you have absolutely no problem in faxing them a copy of the invoice after you've paid for the goods so that they know you have purchased another PC / PC parts - possibly even offer to agree to complete the purchase withing 28 days or receiving the cash from them.

TBH though it depends on what your policy says - if it says you can / should get cash for it then stick to your guns. If it says they'll replace with like for like then I reckon you'd be much better off being REALLY nice to try and avoid getting an overpriced POS from PC World / Dixons delivered to you...

Perhaps another way to do this would be to say that you aren't really claiming for a PC but are making a claim for all of the individual components that you bought and put together yourself - which you don't mind doing again (and in fact would prefer to do so).

Good luck

[malfunction]

Might be worth finding out who / what is on their list of approved parts / PCs... If (for example) they're willing to buy you a brand new Alienware box then it isn't so bad... Oh and if possible can you speak to whomever will be ordering the replacement... You never know he / she MIGHT know loads about PCs AND be a really nice guy / girl... I doubt it somehow but you never know!

[Flibb]

I had a similar thing a few years ago. When they agreed to replace my gear I said I had allready done so due to me needing it straight away (this was for audio gear), I then presented them with a receipt for the stuff. Luckilly I had a friend who fixed tv's etc and he just wrote out the receipt on headed paper, they paid in full.

[malfunction]

I had a similar thing a few years ago. When they agreed to replace my gear I said I had allready done so due to me needing it straight away (this was for audio gear), I then presented them with a receipt for the stuff. Luckilly I had a friend who fixed tv's etc and he just wrote out the receipt on headed paper, they paid in full.

Nice one!

[Lead_Head]

IF you have got the receipts for all your PC parts then there shouldnt be many problems...

[Lee H]

heh lead - I have access at work to all my invoices so I'll print them all off and get them sent to them.

funniest thing is that the prices have fell sharply since I bought the PC so if they give me the cash substitute I'll be able to get a better system than before

hmmmm p4 3.0 or AMD 64 3200+ :: damn thats a hard choice

Cheers for all the feedback and brill advise as usual folks

Lee