Do any of you guys have insurance or an extended warranty for your baby?  If so, from where, for how much, and what does it cover?  I’m strongly considering getting coverage, but I’m not sure where to look.  Thanks in advance.

I’ve always gotten Safeware Laptop Insurance for all of my notebooks, it covers stuff the normal warranty doesn’t like theft and accidental damage. Depending on your insurance company, you may be able to add insurance for your computer through your homeowner’s policy, which might be a better deal.

For comparison, Safeware is about $100 a year, and it’s definitely been worth it for me. A careless coworker spilled his coffee into my PowerBook last year and I had a new one within two weeks. Later that month, my dog ran into the power cord and dragged the computer off the table, denting the corner and mangling the power input jack. Again, it was covered and saved me quite a bit of money.

I would never buy an extended warranty or coverage for my desktop, but since my laptops lead tougher lives I think some kind of protection is worth it.

That doesn’t cover wear and tear does it?  For example, I’m worried that with the constant plugging I subject my USB port to, it might wiggle loose someday.  Would that be covered?

And, what’s the claims process like?  What did they ask?  What did you have to provide?  Did they give you a new unit each time or did they attempt to repair?

It doesn’t cover wear-and-tear, even the official Sony extended warranty doesn’t. A place like Best Buy or Circuit City might have extended warranties that cover wear-and-tear, I have one on my iPod, and basically if any part of it stops working I can take it in and get a new one. I purchased a Best Buy extended warranty for 4 years on my previous cell phone, and when the battery died due to normal usage they just gave me a new one. I think you have to buy these when you buy your machine though, so they probably won’t work in your case.

I had to send in proof of ownership (shipping invoice, credit card receipts) for the claim, and took the laptop to a local computer shop, which then billed the repair to Safeware.