Mac Pro Home insurance replacement

[92jlee]

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if any of you remember me but I've done a few posts over the years and I've put together a few tutorials on the tube of you.

Long story short, managed to spill a pint over the back of my Mac pro 1,1 last weekend. The Pro had been upgraded to X5355s, 7GB ram, 6870 and numerous HDDs. My accidental damage covers up to £1500 per item.

I've checked over the HDDs and they seem okay so I've omitted them from the list but the insurers asked me to send over a full spec with and without upgrades and the approximate cost of the upgrades.

The insurer has accepted the claim with my evidence (YT vids actually helped) and passed it onto another company that deals with their technical replacements, they called me to discus the spec with upgrades etc and said they will have to consult their Apple supplier - I mentioned the Mac Pro (she kept mistaking for MacBook Pro) is discontinued so they may have to offer me refurbished stock which I was happy with anyway - she said they can't, has to be brand new.

Now baring in mind the Mac Pro isn't sold in the UK anymore, what will they offer me? I have to wait until Monday so any input would be nice..

I thought maybe a Mini, which I wouldn't be happy with as the GPU is nothing compared to the 6870.

Maybe an iMac but the whole GPU situation arises, plus I already have a monstrous 27" screen, unless they offered the top spec 27 with the upgraded 2gb GPU but that would be over my £1500 insurance value.

What happens if they haven't got anything to match?

 

[GoCubsGo]

Perhaps just a cash payout to buy whatever you can?

 

[647156]

If you were happy with the 1,1 then you could probably take a £1,500 iMac, sell it unopened for nearly the retail price, and buy another 1,1 and the upgrades again and still have cash left over!

Did the upgraded processors or memory survive? The processors might be ok as they are at the front of the machine and are covered by the heatsinks.

 

[92jlee]

If you were happy with the 1,1 then you could probably take a £1,500 iMac, sell it unopened for nearly the retail price, and buy another 1,1 and the upgrades again and still have cash left over!

Did the upgraded processors or memory survive? The processors might be ok as they are at the front of the machine and are covered by the heatsinks.

I didn't think of that, could work actually. Where can you sell it for near retail price if that is what they offer?

I'm not sure, I haven't checked - just left it to the side just in case they want to collect it. I could get another 1,1 or just build a very good hackintosh for that kind of money.

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Perhaps just a cash payout to buy whatever you can?

I've never made a claim before, do they actually do that?

 

[snarfquest]

One thing with insurance companies and PC's.

They will demand you give them the old/broken machine "intact" before giving you the money.

I went through this when I lost several PC's due to lightening.

Intact is in quotes for a reason. I'd obviously swap any good parts you want to keep with either old or other broken parts.

 

[92jlee]

One thing with insurance companies and PC's.

They will demand you give them the old/broken machine "intact" before giving you the money.

I went through this when I lost several PC's due to lightening.

Intact is in quotes for a reason. I'd obviously swap any good parts you want to keep with either old or other broken parts.

I could probably use the CPUs and the GPU if they didn't fry - won't they want to see evidence of the upgrades to pay out?

My friend spilt liquid on his 17" macbook pro last year and got replaced with a new retina and they didn't collect the broken machine, wondering if they will with me.

 

[647156]

I didn't think of that, could work actually. Where can you sell it for near retail price if that is what they offer?

Just thinking of eBay or similar really, as long as it is a small discount over what the machine is available for at retail then you'd be likely to get a buyer, if it is unopened and therefore "new". I don't know how these things work either, obviously if you can get cash that will be much easier, but otherwise selling a new iMac should easily get you another 1,1 and some decent upgrades (I'd recommend adding an SSD, makes them very fast indeed).

I could probably use the CPUs and the GPU if they didn't fry - won't they want to see evidence of the upgrades to pay out?

Wouldn't they pay out the full £1,500 for a Mac Pro anyway even un-upgraded, given that the cheapest new one when you could get them was £2,000, and the 2x2.66 1,1 without upgrades retailed for £1,700 when new in 2006? Though I don't know how they work out the "new for old" value when a direct replacement is no longer available.

 

[DPUser]

In the US, yes, cash out is an option on every policy I've ever seen. And I've seen a lot. I'd take it, if available to you, and buy a used 4,1 or 5,1.

Also, if your policy limit is lower than the value of the machine that was damaged, you should be able to retain your computer as "salvage," as long as the salvage value + policy limit is less than or equal to the fair market value of an undamaged similar computer. Insurance is intended to make you whole after a loss.

Read your policy (or at least ask the right questions of your insurer, not their replacement company), and you will be an empowered consumer.