Home Contents Insurance

[lattejed]

I managed to lose my gps today whilst looking for Ainslie Sheep. I called my insurance company and they said it isn't included on my contents insurance as gps's aren't listed on the 'unspecified personal effects'. I was hoping a gps that was used exclusively for caching might come under 'sporting equipment' - but I am sure insurance companies think sporting equipment only includes wooden tennis racquets and dunlop volleys.

Has anyone else had any previous experience with trying to make a similar claim on their contents insurance?

[Jardry]

It wording of your policy will determine what is and what is not covered.

My Home Contents policy includes up to $10,000 of unspecified items, subject to any one item being valued at no more than $1,000. My policy also has a $100 excess (it was $0 but I think I may have made too many claims). This pretty much covers all my gadgets - laptops, digital cameras, handi-cam video recorders, GPSr's, mobile phones, etc.

I have made at least two claims for damage which resulted whilst geocaching.

The first claim was for a replacement Palm PDA which I was using for paperless geocaching which ended up with a broken screen when I dropped it as I was stumbled and fell over some rocks.

The second claim was for a refurbished GPSr when the windscreen mount gave way and the screen on the GPSr cracked. As it was a touch screen GPSr, nothing worked, so it had to be sent to Garmin for a replacement unit to be provided.

my insurance company and they said it isn't included on my contents insurance as gps's aren't listed on the 'unspecified personal effects'

DOH!! What does "unspecified" mean then when your insurance company requires your GPSr to be listed!!

I'd ague back that their wording is misleading as how can something be listed and unspecified at the same time!!

[lattejed]

Thanks for the reply. It looks like we have a similar but different policy. My wife called the insurance company back and the first person she spoke with was okay with it, but, when she spoke with the Claims area they wouldn't accept the claim. He reckons they don't cover any handheld items such as PDA's, mobile phones and handheld gps's. When we told them that the previous person said it was okay, his reply was that she was now talking to the Claims area. We have unwittingly stumbled upon some sort of heirarcy within the insurance company.

[Black Bunny]

It's a navigational aid - try claiming on your car insurance. You never know your luck.

[Cheesy pigs]

We claimed on a GPSr that was accidentally left behind at a cache. When we returned it was gone. We went through House and contents insurance as lost/ stolen item and they paid up