This is the first time I have joined a forum so if my protocol is off then please forgive!!

I have recently made a claim with my home and contents insurer More than. My 2 year old son pulled our 4 year old laptop off the side board and has rendered it useless!!! The claim was being handled sufficiently until last Monday when a company called HCS called to say our claim had been passed on to them and they would provide a replacement laptop. She gave my husband a choice of 2, both of which he would consider as 'low range' laptops retailing at around £300. We told her we would think about it and left it at that. When we considered the products offered we did not feel that they would be fair replacements for our broken laptop. We told More than this and we were told that we did not have a "betterment" policy but a "new for old" one. I know technology moves on and the replacements match our old laptop, however my issue is that our old one cost £1500 4 years ago and was a top range model so one would expect to have a top end model replaced likewise. We were told that if we want to take the models offered then we should pay HCS (whoever they are!) by debit card £100. I understand excess but I always thought that this amount was deducted at the decision stage and a replacement would be offered minus the cost of the excess!! HCS are not who I have a policy with. Is this worth fighting??? Should I stand my ground for a better laptop?? Please help!!

A new for old policy means that they will return you to the state you were in prior to the event. If the 'low range' laptops do everything that your old one did then this is what they are doing. Although your laptop may have cost £1500 4 years ago, it certainly wouldn't now. If you have chosen not to replace this with a better model in the years since then you can't expect More Than to now - otherwise everyone would be claiming for a new laptop every time they wanted an upgrade!

HCS are obviously a chosen supplier of More Than. They will provide you with a new laptop which they will then charge More Than for. It is irrelevant who you pay the excess to as long as you only pay it once! From your comments above I think you mean that you didn't think you'd have to pay an excess, but rather this would be taken off your settlement. If More Than were settling in cash then this would be the case, but as they are providing you with a new laptop, if they took the excess from this then you would only be able to have a £200 laptop!!

Thanks!

More than incidentally have written to us today offering us a more suitable replacement!! seems I wasn't being silly after all!

Well I have to agree with isis on this one. It's all about indemnity v reinstatement. What you bought for £1,500 4 years ago could easily be replaced with the same spec for a hell of a lot less. You only have to look at the deals around in electrical places now. I bought a laptop for £1,900 back in 2005 and I can now buy one with a higher spec with additional 'throw in's' for £450!!!

As much as I dislike More Than and that they make a mockery out of Royal & Sun Alliance, I make them right in their first decision and, if I were settling the claim, I would have stuck to my guns regardless of dissatisfaction. You're lucky I didn't make the recommendation to settle :oP

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Kind Regards,

Vicissitude