25 Sep
2007
25 Sep
'07
9:01 p.m.
--- Gerhard Lenerz <mail at g-lenerz.de> wrote:
None of this is covered by any insurance, personally
I cannot see how
any insurance could recover the loss from a drowned
Crimson/RE for
example. Of course the cash would make my life
happier, but (a) the
insurance would probably cost an arm and a leg and
(b) a decent
collectible would be lost anyway...
Unfortunately, I don't believe that there is any way
of really insuring a computer collection. And even if
you did manage to buy insurance for your collection,
getting them to pay up if something were to happen
would be next to impossible.
I recall a sad story posted here a couple years ago,
about a collector whose house was hit by a car.
Really. Someone (some drunk someone, IIRC) drove a car
into the side of the house. Sizeable damage was done
to the house, and a computer (a DEC PDP "straight" 8,
I think) was destroyed in the process. I think the
computer was covered by his insurance. But I don't
know what the eventual outcome of it was, but I can't
imagine that getting payment would have been easy. Or
have helped. Because where are you ever going to
replace something like that?
Something like repairs to a house are easy to put a
dollar value on. Materials and labor. Even things like
vintage cars and antique furniture have a somewhat
established pricing system. But computers? I mean, I
know that there is a classic computer price guide
(microcomputers only, BTW), but it's hardly the
definitive word on the matter. Same with eBay price
histories.
Is there even a way to have a computer collection
insured?
-Ian