With the stay-in-place advisory in Massachusetts, your laptop is a valuable resource when it comes to updates concerning COVID-19, paying bills online, and interacting with family and friends. It’s justifiable to want the most protection for something that acts as a digital window to the outside world. Since these machines are so vital in this day and age – especially given the crisis – you may be wondering when your laptop is covered by insurance.
What Insurance is Required to Cover My Personal Laptop?
Fortunately, renters and homeowners insurance cover your laptop from all sorts of perils. No matter whether it incurs a peril at home, at your local café, or while traveling abroad, renters and homeowners insurance will cover your laptop for all of the following:
- Acts of god such as lightning earthquakes, and hurricanes.
- Fire and smoke.
- Damage from vehicles and aircraft.
- Theft, riots, and civil unrest.
- Falling objects.
However, since electronic devices are prone to accidental damage, a laptop cannot benefit from additional coverage, such as your jewelry.
Does a Laptop’s Warranty Work Like Insurance?
Most laptops come with a manufacturer’s warranty or guarantee for a limited time, which will cover things like hard drive failures, a defective keyboard, and manufacturing or operational faults. You can determine precisely what’s covered by checking the warranty, but a base warranty typically will not cover theft, data loss, or damage – whether it be accidental or otherwise.
Is My Work Laptop Covered by Insurance?
If your laptop is provided by your company, it is considered a business tool, which is not covered by homeowners insurance. If your employer determines you are financially responsible for theft or damage to the laptop, you will be held accountable for replacing it. In this instance, some homeowners policies may cover a limited portion of business property, such as $250. However, a business can choose to cover the laptop under their business owners insurance, property liability insurance, and even protect the information within via cyber insurance.
Is My Laptop Covered if I Use a Laptop for my Personal Business?
Homeowners insurance covers a very small portion of business equipment and does not include liability or lost data coverage. In the case of a home-based business, if you use your laptop primarily for business purposes, you will need a separate policy to cover it. Some such policies include:
- Homeowners Policy Endorsement: Adding a simple endorsement to your homeowners policy can add a layer of coverage to cover some of your business property.
- In-Home Business Policy: This provides more comprehensive coverage for business equipment and liability, including loss of confidential data.
- Business Owners Policy: This covers property insurance and the contents owned by a business. If you have employees to whom you grant laptops, business owners insurance will cover that property as well.
Knowing when your laptop is covered by insurance is beneficial if or when your device becomes damaged or stolen. With many of us working from home as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, now is the time to ensure all your personal property is covered by your renters insurance or homeowners insurance. TJ Wood Insurance is here to help during these trying times, and we’re prepared to keep you up to date on policy changes related to the pandemic. Contact us today if you have any questions regarding what is covered by your current policies.
