Laptops are not only expensive, but they are also subject to a great many risks.

As one of the most valuable items that people bring out and about they are, of course, a highly desirable target for thieves. Indeed, as laptop theft is increasingly common in the UK it is a very palpable risk even for the most careful of laptop users. Moreover laptops are fragile, and easily damaged by accident. A few drops of liquid in the wrong place could render it unusable, as could accidentally dropping it while you are moving from one place to the next.

As any of these incidents could result in unexpected repair or replacement costs, it is a good idea to make sure that your laptop is properly insured. It is for this particular purpose that laptop insurance exists in the first place. Yet a great many people discard this option for various reasons, choosing self-insurance – as in saving up for a rainy day – instead of spending cash on an insurance policy they feel is redundant at best. There are good reasons for both approaches, so rather than telling you which is best we are in this article listing the pros and cons of laptop insurance. Read on and decide for yourself whether or not it is worth it.

The Pros

Granted, your laptop could simply be included in your home insurance, but while this solution is cost effective, it is far from as comprehensive as separate laptop insurance. On top of providing what has already been mentioned, laptop insurance UK tends to alleviate the issues that might arise if you were to end up without a laptop while a claim is being settled. Insurance providers like Endsleigh UK understands that many people these days rely on their laptops a great deal in their work or studies, for which reason they lend their policy holders a laptop until their own is repaired or replaced.

Moreover the home insurance cover for laptops is subject to a time limit outside the home, whereas separate laptop insurance policies – whether they are laptop insurance London or laptop insurance Scotland - offer unlimited coverage within the UK. While this is irrelevant for some, it is great for those who are often travelling domestically. On a similar note laptop insurance options such as compucover UK provide extended worldwide cover, protecting your computer for up to three months abroad. Compare to the average 45 days of home insurance. Again, this might not be necessary for everyone, but for those who are prone to long stays abroad it is a better idea to purchase laptop insurance UK than to go unprotected or, say, buy US laptop insurance for the duration of the trip.

The Cons

The cons of laptop insurance have as a matter of fact already been touched on, for one aspect of laptop insurance that puts people off purchasing it is how it protects against eventualities that seem highly unlikely to occur. Someone who does not need their laptop for work or studies might also not need to borrow a computer while theirs is getting fixed or replaced. Similarly someone who only ever travels out of the UK for a week or two does not have any use for extended worldwide cover. For these people laptop insurance UK is truly superfluous, and as few insurance alternatives of this category come with the option of tailoring policies to needs there is no way of purchasing only relevant protection for lower premiums.

Moreover computers are always developing, and the life span of a laptop is therefore arguably not very long. Many people simply do not think it is justifiable to insure a laptop that will soon have to be replaced with a newer model. This is one of the main points of many a laptop insurance review; that had a regular sum of about the size of the insurance premiums been saved up instead, the laptop owner would have a substantial lump sum with which to pay for repairs of replacements if necessary or, if no incidents were to occur during the ownership, a significant contribution towards a new laptop once the original one is outdated to the point of no longer being serviceable.

Do You Need Laptop Insurance?

Considering the above, it should be apparent that the pros and cons of laptop insurance only really make it a worthwhile investment for a certain kind of people. For others it would indeed be a pointless expense that would be better used elsewhere.