Insurance Advice - Help Required

[party_pete]

I'm hoping someone may have an idea on this, or may have gone through something similar with insurers.

We had our 7 year old Sony Handycam stolen last week. It's now a discontinued model and the insurers want to know it's value both now (comparable model) and when purchased.

Unfortunately i've no receipts or statements going back that far, and searches on the www have just brought up consumables for it and not the actual camera.

I just want to make sure that I don't lose out!

Sony Handycam CCD-TRV27E

Any ideas much appreciated.

[pinbrook]

Having been the IT manager for an insurance replacement compay.....

the normal procedure is the insurance company or the replacement company have software that is able to track old models and thus know what the current replacement model should be.

it also depends on your insurance policy, most are now "replacement" policies, ie the insurance co will replace your item and not give you money to buy a replacement.

If it is not possible to trace the old model to a new model, the next step is to list the features to ensure the replacement has all the features of the old and has an equivilent spec. Monetary value then and now has no bearing on what they will replace with, it is another factor in determining the replacment model. Features are key...

If your original was top of the range 7 years ago, it won't necessarily be replaced with top of the range today, as features have moved on.

Hard bargaining on the phone is required, and you also have the option of giving more money to the insurance company if you now want a better spec or upgrade

Hope this helps!

[jont]

Features are the prime consideration but also make a note of the quality of the appliance also ... eg a 5M Canon camera should not be replaced with a 5M pixel own-brand camera as the quality is just not going to be the same.. even a 7M pixel own-brand camera may be an unsuitable replacement to the older 5M pixel version you had.

I had a 30 year old valve amplifier crash and die from a collapsed shelf unit and the insurers wanted to replace with solid state whiz bang modern .. I refused and demanded they either repair or replace with equivalent quality... they eventually repaired.

Be wary that insurers tend to have a list of "suitable replacements" which will need careful consideration as the default offer may not be appropriate.

[party_pete]

Thanks guys.

Now got to try and get the nice hole in the picasso's door fixed - oh joy!