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     |E |5First Things First|E        ^1 Diskovery |E         |5First Things First|E 
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^Cby
^CJay Wilbur

^CComputer Insurance

     Recently I had the good fortune of trying to insure my personal       
     computer equipment.  I rent a house with two other guys and between us
     we have at least $20K ($12K of which is mine) worth of hardware and   
     software in the house.  If we were to fall victim to robbery, life as 
     we know it would end.                                                 

     My first stop was my State Farm agent.  My high-end renters and boat  
     policies are written with them.  I figured the high-tech security     
     system in the house would give me a hefty discount.  I figured this   
     big insurance company could provide their clients with this service.  
     I figured wrong.                                                      

     Lisa, my agent, immediately wrote me a rider to cover up to $8,000.00 
     worth of my computer stuff.  Unfortunately, that figure didn't cover  
     it, and I asked her to find me more coverage.  This is where it all   
     started to get fun.                                                   

     After numerous phone calls with Lisa about EXACTLY what I use my      
     computers for, I was informed that neither State Farm, nor any other  
     insurance company that she knew of would touch me.  Why?  Because I   
     have the unmitigated audacity to bring work home from the office and  
     do it on my PERSONAL computer.  In the insurer's eyes they were not   
     personal, they were business tools.  Even though I paid for my        
     computers with my PERSONAL money out of my PERSONAL pocket.           

     In order for State Farm to cover my computers it had to be 100%       
     personal.  I could never even consider using them for business        
     purposes.  It's my guess that 90% of the computers in the home today  
     were purchased to allow the users to continue the workday at home.  I 
     can only guess that the 90% who took the State Farm computer rider    
     lied when it came to the business/personal question.  Either that or  
     State Farm doesn't write a lot of policies for computer insurance.    

     Well there I was, about $12,000 of uninsured computer stuff about me  
     and no hope of finding insurance around town.  Being a believer in    
     Jay's economic law #1 (When I have money to spend on something, there 
     will be someone, somewhere to take it), I went to CompuServe's on-line
     mail and searched for insurance vendors.  I found Safeware (GO SAF).  

     Safeware could not care less about what you do with your computer,    
     they just want to insure you.  A basic service oriented company --    
     I like that!  You buy insurance by the dollar amount.  $2000.00 of    
     annual coverage (with a $50.00 deductible) will cost you $49.00.  If  
     you need more coverage, you can get up to $14,000.00 of insurance for 
     only $149.00 a year.  Where has this company been hiding all these    
     years?                                                                

     For users with special needs, Safeware has special policies.  If you  
     own a business and need to have your computers up and running all the 
     time, Safeware has a "Fix-It" policy.  It's a combination insurance   
     policy and service contract.  If your computer breaks down, you simply
     bring it to a service center (ANY SERVICE CENTER YOU WANT) and have   
     them Fix-It.  Premiums are a bit higher for this policy but so is the 
     protection.                                                           

     For more information about Safeware's services, I suggest you give    
     them a call at 1-800-848-3469.  If you are a CompuServe subscriber    
     simply type GO SAF at any prompt, and all the information you need    
     will be at your fingertips.  If you are an agent or executive for a   
     major insurance company, I would suggest you give the folks at        
     Safeware a call--you may learn something!                             

     See you in 30,                                                        
     J                                                                     
