The Challenge of Insuring Your Laptop

I've always been amazed at how clean the insurance business is. It all runs on paper, with no need to produce anything physical except more paper. Even most of the promotional items and giveaways are paper (with calendars being the most common).

Probably the most amazing thing about the insurance business is that the people in it really believe it is both honest and interesting. All kidding aside, insurance - the ability to manage risk, both business and personal, and hedge your bets - is one of the key foundations of the world economy. It might best be described as one company betting that nothing will go wrong against customers who worry that something will.

In this modern information era, the most valuable commodity that most companies possess is their data - that unseen, intangible information held in big visible, tangible machines parked in secure, locked rooms and managed by highly paid professionals. Not surprisingly, most insurance companies offer plans to protect their corporate customers from data loss in addition to the regular fire and disaster stuff.

But what about the notebook-sized PC that you can easily swing over your shoulder and carry with you anywhere? Today's laptop computers, used by all kinds of people from all walks of life, can cost as much as a new car. So, naturally, insurance companies are... what?

Finding insurance for one's laptop in Japan is a challenge. Like most business arrangements here that involve some risk, deals are negotiated on a case-by-case basis. After speaking to several insurance underwriters and customers, though, as well as some people who have had their laptops stolen, I can offer the following advice for those of you looking to protect your portable PC.

• The best way to get laptop insurance is to let your company do it for you (which is possible if you work for a decent-sized firm that does a lot of business with a major insurance company). If your PC is used for business and owned by the company, it probably comes under their current policy. Or, if you own your laptop, you might be able to register it with your employer, who will then tack it onto the company's plan. (A good corporate policy may even insure against data loss if you carelessly neglected to back it up.)

• Most household fire-and-theft policies cover personal computers, including laptops - but only in the home. If your laptop is damaged or stolen on the street, you're probably out of luck.

• Travel policies often cover portable computers, but the coverage amount is usually not very much. Most of the policies against theft or loss on the road pay only JPY100,000 per item (though some may go as high as JPY300,000 to JPY400,000). One agent said that higher coverage for travelers (policies for gold Rolex watches, for example) tends to be limited to "special" clientele. I took that as a very polite way of saying "no."

In short, insurance brokers shy away from covering laptops for individuals because of the high incidence of theft (especially at overseas airports), insurance fraud in post-bubble Japan (though risking a five- to ten-year sentence on fraud charges to upgrade your 486 to a Pentium isn't very smart), and the fast depreciation of a laptop computer (its value will be almost zero in 24 to 36 months). There is little interest in the insurance industry about offering coverage specifically for portable computers, since the risk/return ratio doesn't make it a profitable venture.

Some of the companies I spoke with were "willing to consider" laptop coverage on a case-by-case basis, but none were eager to be mentioned in this column. Obviously, "willing" does mean particularly interested in doing such business. If this attitude changes, you'll see it here first. (Any readers who have succeeded in getting affordable insurance for your laptop here in Japan, please drop me a line.)

Given today's business realities, my advice is to resort to the time-honored method of protecting yourself against what little theft there is on a Japanese street: look as unpleasant and unprosperous as possible, and act crazier than any potential attacker. And if that doesn't work, practice asking for directions to the nearest koban (police box) in Japanese.