My Beomaster 6500 got damaged by lightening and I claimed for the entire Beosystem 6500 as it is not possible to find a replacement Beomaster 6500 in my country. I was extremely lucky and got the entire system including RL140 speakers for R2500.00! A bargain I know. The insurance phoned me today to say that they will pay me out R55 000.00!!! I was floored!

I LOVE BANG & OLUFSEN!!!

P.s. I just had to share a happy story :)

Wow... That's 42.000 DKK for a Beosystem 6500... Mind blown

Thats true....and it was in perfect working order and virtually no scratches. I was very lucky I have to say.

If the insurance pays that much over there, I'll move to SA with my entire collection, wait for a thunderstorm, and then retire... Did it cost that much when new?

Edit: with pricing info from Beocentral, the entire stack without MCP was £2,292 in 1990. According to MeasuringWorth, that would translate to £3,900 (retail price index) or £4,890 (average earnings) in 2008's money. The latter just about matches...

The 6500 system cost about 2400 £ in 1990

-Too slow ^^

The insurance paid me for the replacement cost which B&O South Africa said the equivalent would be a Beosound 3200 and Beolab 6000. They give the money though and its up to you to purchase the item. I also paid no excess. Very good insurance company.

Maybe they'll change their policy if they are BeoWorld members?

TheMajor:

Sweet! What are you going to buy?

Well I've decided to pay off the rest of my car which I owe R30 000.00 then buy another Beomaster 6500 and have it shipped here. The rest put it in the bank...or use the rest of the money to add towards the trade in value of my current car and upgrade

I want your insurance company!!!

Maybe they have a filial in Finland?

bayerische:

I want your insurance company!!!

Me too!

I don't think any of our regular home insurances would pay you more than a few hundred tops, unless you had agreed on an insurance value beforehand (and paid for it dearly...). They all have age deductions depending on the kind of property, and AV kit of that age typically will have around 10% of its value left.

In the UK, go to Hiscox. They specialise in higher value homes. I was badly burgled some years ago and lost my BC9500 and LX6000 with S75 speakers. Hiscox paid the full amount to get a new equivalent (and a considerable amount more for rather more important things!) with no quibble at all. The assessor arrived and immediately asked the name of the company I was with as he had never had an insurance company who had simply told him to ask what I had lost and give me the money! I am still insured and have had to claim a couple of times since and they have always been superb. Also cheaper than other companies I have tried.

bayerische:

I want your insurance company!!!

 

Maybe they have a filial in Finland?

I want them in Holland too. I'm not sure but I believe that damage caused by lightning is excluded a lot of the time over here.

How about an investment into better protection of your electrics and electronics against lightning?

iPoditiv

You know I got nothing personal against claims cases like this, however it does go a long way to explain why we all pay so much for our insurance!!! Also it would suggest why people pay over the odds prices for faulty AV equipment on ebay!

For those reasons alone I wish insurance companies were a bit more reserved in their payouts!!!

The lightening struck the Satellite dish and everything that was directly or indirectly connected was damaged. I had unplugged everything from the mains supply but I've never ever had to disconnect the satellite. 3 burnt tv's, dvd recorder, dvd player, Satellite dish and 2 decoders, 2 Vcrs were also included in the claim and they paid out for everything. I have now installed a lightening protector with the Satellite Dish.

In my defensive I did inform them that all the damaged equipment was available to them for inspection. They declined to send an assessor.

Doctor:

In the UK, go to Hiscox. They specialise in higher value homes. I was badly burgled some years ago and lost my BC9500 and LX6000 with S75 speakers. Hiscox paid the full amount to get a new equivalent (and a considerable amount more for rather more important things!) with no quibble at all. The assessor arrived and immediately asked the name of the company I was with as he had never had an insurance company who had simply told him to ask what I had lost and give me the money! I am still insured and have had to claim a couple of times since and they have always been superb. Also cheaper than other companies I have tried.

I can endorse this recommendation! Hiscox provide fantastic cover for a very reasonable price. From recollection, if your contents value goes above a certain limit they will insist that you have a burglar alarm linked to a manned centre (which can be very expensive). You can check the cover requirements on their website and if you are in luck you'll come in below that expensive alarm limit.

Graham

I hope you don't think I was attacking you BenSa as I certainly was not! Just thinking out loud..

Step1:

I hope you don't think I was attacking you BenSa as I certainly was not! Just thinking out loud..

I am glad you posted this explanation for BenSA since your first post did "sound harsh" ...  

Off Topic ... Rant Warning !

The whole insurance business/industry is doing my head in at the moment with the aftermath of the massive floods through three of Australia's eastern states (by the way, the flood waters are still with us and are moving slowly across flat country and down river systems, we have a major town of 10,000 sandbagged this weekend and everyone hoping the peak will pass over the next few days without spilling over).

As a taxpayer and the owner of a home and contents insurance policy I am being doubly penalised by these floods.  (But at least I was not flooded, so perhaps I should just shut-up) The federal government is going to impose a once-off flood levy/tax to (a) pay for the rebuilding of infrastructure [e.g. there is one Queensland town that will not get reconnected to the transport systems until March ... so it isolated and relies of airdrops!] and (b) compensation (means tested) for those people who were not insured (I fully support this BTW).  At the same time the government is heavying the insurance companies to pay claims and to not try to wriggle out of fine print clauses (some insurers are trying to distinguish between rain damage, flood damage in a known flood plain, and violent "act of God" floods -- all in attempts to not pay, or pay less).  And even without giving in to the government's pressure, the insurance companies are raising their premiums (yes, I know it is capitalism at work).

But it does lead one to the conclusion that one should not insure against disasters ... because political pressure results in the government coming to you aid anyway ... and because no insurance company can afford to be as generous as Ben's or Peter's when faced with hundreds of simultaneous claims.

Rant Over

Step1:

I hope you don't think I was attacking you BenSa as I certainly was not! Just thinking out loud..

No, not at all, you were expressing a concern which I'm sure a lot people were thinking.

elephant:

Step1:

I hope you don't think I was attacking you BenSa as I certainly was not! Just thinking out loud..

I am glad you posted this explanation for BenSA since your first post did "sound harsh" ...  

 

Thanks

ZAR 55k is alot of money!! AUD 7,800!

I had a similar experience when robbers came and stole all my stuff (except the CRTs)

You got email!

Friedmett:

You got email!

 

Who has an e-mail?

You Ben!