Laptop theft/loss insurance

[wurm]

Our daughter heads off to college in a couple of weeks with her new MacBook. We bought Applecare for any technical problems, will very likely buy Undercover, bought a lock, and am thinking seriously about other coverage for loss or theft, as Applecare doesn't cover that.

Yes, we've already checked into adding a rider to our homeowners' coverage to cover her property at the dorm, but even our agent (who happens to work with and be a very good friend of my wife) suggested we'd be better off with a separate policy.

So after thinking that http://www.safeware.com/ was my best alternative, we received a brochure in the mail from N.S.S.I. http://www.nssinc.com/ Normally, I just toss stuff like this out after a cursory glance, but this actually looks like a good deal from a "real" company. Anyone here have any experience with them or similar companies?

Thanks.

[PeterB]

wurm, I checked into this myself not too long ago. Dunno if it would apply to your daughter, but you could look into renter's insurance-- not very expensive, and covers a good amount of stuff (easily a laptop plus other personal possessions). The advantage of getting her covered by your homeowners or by renters insurance is that it's usually from a reputable, well-known company -- for example, I'm getting Traveller's. They might also give you a deal on the renter's insurance if you are also getting another type of insurance from the same company, e.g., house or car.

Undercover is a good investment for the money, I think. No, it's not nearly foolproof. But between this, doing the firmware password (or whatever it is for MacBooks), a good security lock, and insurance against theft, I'd think you'd be pretty well covered in any eventuality. The major concern might more be about stuff ON the laptop if it were to get stolen, not the laptop itself... I'd think that FileVault might be useful in this case.

[Jerry®]

I'm wondering about this as well. I'm already looking into renter's insurance - but was going to ask about laptop security software/tracking/etc. I'll take a look at Undercover.

Thanks!
Jerry