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Ask HN: Has anyone bought Laptop Insurance for their Startups?

• lsc 16y ago
  Insurance is for things you can't afford to replace. To me, it's a sign that I need to sit and think "If I can't replace this thing in the unlikely event that I destroy it... can I really afford this thing in the first place? would it be better to buy an older, cheaper model?" I have a general rule that I don't carry a laptop I can't replace, just like I don't drive a car I can't replace. I don't insure the laptop, (and I have liability only on the car) I mean, it's possible that you're compiling on the things, or doing something else CPU heavy where spending the money for a more modern laptop will pay for itself quickly in developer time... for me, all the heavy lifting is done remotely, and on Linux, so long as you have enough ram, a cpu that was pretty good 10 years ago can move the user interface along as fast as it needs to go. For my workload, it makes sense to use an older/cheaper less powerful laptop and spend more of the money on an external monitor and keyboard (or a full on desktop for use in the office) A $150 monitor is a huge win for me. For you this may be different. I guess saying "perhaps you should reconsider your assumptions" is not really answering your question. When I was in high school, my grand parents gave me a laptop (oh man, it was awesome. a ThinkPad 365xd My parents didn't have the financial wherewithal to get me one, and me, I was carrying a tandy model-100 around. it was quite the upgrade. Actually, discounting crappy netbooks, this was probably the only brand new laptop I've ever owned myself.) anyhow, it was insured through "fireman's insurance group" or something like that. I never had cause to use the insurance (in part because the IBM warranty was so excellent. it covered damage that was pretty obviously my fault, too.)