One in 3 laptop claims caused by dropping them says Domestic & General
8 July 2008
With the cost of laptops now ranging from around £200 to over £2,000 you might think that we'd all be a bit more careful with them.
However, Domestic & General has analysed the latest claims and found that nearly one in three claims for laptops involve dropping the item and a further 5% involve dropping something heavy onto it.
Many laptops are dropped while moving them from place to place and one in ten of the claims involve tripping over trailing cables. Some people blame being knocked over by dogs or children; nearly one in five are caused by spillages. Coca Cola, juice and other sugary drinks in particular do not do laptops any good.
People often fail to clear the route they are taking when carrying a laptop and toys and other debris on the floor can prove to be a hazard, as are stairs.
Children seem drawn to laptops. If a laptop is left on the floor or a low surface young children always want to sit or stand on them or merely wipe their sticky hands over the screen. 15% of claims involve children and a further 3% involve pets.
Here is a small selection of extracts from claims made over the past 6 months:
"It slipped out of my hands while carrying it down the stairs, hitting the screen on the banister post and somersaulted down a number of steps, hitting a vase on the landing."
""The laptop was on my bed. The kids were playing hide and seek and one ran across my bed to hide from the other and stepped on the screen, it then fell to the floor."
"My dog jumped up and knocked a glass of lemonade onto the laptop."
"I was using the laptop at the dining room table and as I got up I pulled the tablecloth and the laptop fell on the floor."
"I tripped over a rug on the floor and lost my balance while holding a glass of juice which then went over the laptop keyboard."
"My three year old sat down on the laptop as it was on the sofa next to me."
Luckily all these laptops were protected under D & G service contracts so the claims could be met.
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Notes for Editors
The statistics in this release are based on claims made to D & G over a 6 month period - last Q 2007 & first Q 2008. Case studies are available as is photography in some cases.
Dropped it while moving or from lap or table 29%
Spilt something liquid onto/into it 19%
Accidents involving children 15%
Accidents involving pets 3%
Accidents involving cable -
tripping on it or knocking something into it 10%
Closing lid on an item/-cracking screen 4%
Dropping something (heavy) onto it 5%
Other 15%
Total 100%
Domestic & General is the UK’s largest specialist provider of service contracts on domestic appliances, electronic equipment and also provides plans for gas central heating systems. The company works with over 100 appliance brands, over 2,000 independent high street retailers and catalogue companies, and also operates a Quoteline service.
For more information, please contact the D & G press office on 020 8879 8580 or email pressoffice@domesticandgeneral.com.