# Pump Insurance?



## Fandange (Jan 7, 2013)

Hi Pumpers, Bede is getting 'hooked up' to his Accu Chek Combo this week. My question is about insurance? His nurse gave me a letter to ad it to our household insurance but as we don't have any, I am wondering if anyone has any ideas/advice/experience in this area?
Thanks,
A


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## suziepoo (Jan 7, 2013)

Hi

Just being nosey, but why don't you have house insurance??

When I got my pump, I just phoned my insurance company and they added it as a personal item - so I'm covered for accidental damage and for theft etc. It wasn't a major thing to do.

The likes of confused.com etc are good for comparing rates.

Good luck!


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 7, 2013)

there is a firm that does pump ins, can't remember who they are but very expensive. Must admit I was not impressed by the cover offered. It would be cheaper to get contents ins for your house and pay the extra few quid to cover the pump.
Failing that then if the pump is broken and it's not covered by the warranty then you cough up the cost of the pump, which is about 2 1/2 grand.


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## MaryPlain (Jan 7, 2013)

Pumper_Sue said:


> there is a firm that does pump ins, can't remember who they are but very expensive. Must admit I was not impressed by the cover offered. It would be cheaper to get contents ins for your house and pay the extra few quid to cover the pump.
> Failing that then if the pump is broken and it's not covered by the warranty then you cough up the cost of the pump, which is about 2 1/2 grand.



I'm intrigued that this is possible since the pump does not actually belong to us, I was under the impression insurers wouldn't cover it.  I think I was led to believe this because a few years ago I enquired about whether I could add my work laptop to my house insurance and they said no because it wasn't mine.

Did those of you who have this insurance make it clear that the pump is on loan, and were the insurers ok with this?


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 7, 2013)

> Did those of you who have this insurance make it clear that the pump is on loan, and were the insurers ok with this?


My ins company is fully aware of this and had no problem with it.

I had to insure an on loan horse once told the ins who the owners were so if anything happened ie death of the horse, they were paid and not me.


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## trophywench (Jan 7, 2013)

Mary - if an insurer WANTS to cover it then they can, it is as simple as that.  If they don't want to then they don't have to.

We have put ours out to the market (the house contents insurance I mean) a couple of times and if they won't insure some of the stuff we have, be it my pump or certain very pricey sporting equipment and other valuables -  then we just cross em off the list, frankly.


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## Fandange (Jan 8, 2013)

I'm going to use this company .... http://insurance4insulinpumps.co.uk

I'm happy with their policy and the cost is the same as the mobile phone insurance I pay on my daughter's phone!


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## trophywench (Jan 8, 2013)

Oh yes, they use a specialist repairer of THEIR choice if it goes wrong, and they will replace it with what THEY see fit if it goes missing.  They will NOT guarantee it will be the same make even, let alone the same model .......  Not a good plan, IMHO.  I did point these things out to them some time ago .....

I would just mention here that I spent almost my entire working life nit-picking every word and nuance of insurers' policy wordings and attempting to get the things altered. And got paid quite a lot of money for doing it, cos I was like a terrier down a rabbit hole with the slippery little devils .........


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 8, 2013)

Fandange said:


> I'm going to use this company .... http://insurance4insulinpumps.co.uk
> 
> I'm happy with their policy and the cost is the same as the mobile phone insurance I pay on my daughter's phone!



Pity you didn't read the policy before commiting to it.


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## Northerner (Jan 8, 2013)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Pity you didn't read the policy before commiting to it.



Isn't there a cooling off period for such things, in light of the comments made concerning the policy? Perhaps not too late to reconsider?


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 8, 2013)

Northerner said:


> Isn't there a cooling off period for such things, in light of the comments made concerning the policy? Perhaps not too late to reconsider?



Not to sure suspect there is. TW would know though.


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## Northerner (Jan 8, 2013)

I emailed Fandange to make sure she is aware of your comments.


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## MaryPlain (Jan 8, 2013)

trophywench said:


> Oh yes, they use a specialist repairer of THEIR choice if it goes wrong, and they will replace it with what THEY see fit if it goes missing.  They will NOT guarantee it will be the same make even, let alone the same model .......  Not a good plan, IMHO.  I did point these things out to them some time ago .....
> 
> I would just mention here that I spent almost my entire working life nit-picking every word and nuance of insurers' policy wordings and attempting to get the things altered. And got paid quite a lot of money for doing it, cos I was like a terrier down a rabbit hole with the slippery little devils .........



It sounds as if you've looked into this, TW - please would you care to share the benefits of your research? 

I've got my contents insured with the AA - I'll ask them if I can add my pump and under what conditions but I'm not hopeful.  May I ask who your chosen policy is with?

I may have to get an add-on policy until I renew my contents. The problem is I had to shop around a bit on the buildings policy to get one which didn't mind us having flat roofed extensions.

These are the little complications which make the whole price comparison thing a lot more long winded than you would think!


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## MaryPlain (Jan 8, 2013)

I just thought of something else. 

The main reason I have contents insurance is in case of burglary, flood etc, neither of which really apply to the pump.  I think the main risk to the pump is accidental damage, which is an optional extra on a contents policy (I don't normally opt for it!) and has all sorts of exclusions, so I'm wondering whether a specific insurance policy might be more appropriate?


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## trophywench (Jan 8, 2013)

Well it was with AXA via Lloyd's Bank and we moved it to Payment Shield cos they were as good in cover but cheaper.

We have acc damage across the board and in any case normally you get it (AD) on anything specified.  And my pump is specified because it doesn't fall into any of the categories they'd thought someobody might have when they printed their policy.  If it was worth up to ?1,000 I wouldn't have had to specify it.  I did ask what would actually happen if I lost it and because it's New for Old, like for like replacement - then it would just be replaced.  I mean you can't go for betterment, in this case eg integrated CGMS instead of 'just a pump and meter/remote' unless say, it was cheaper than replacing the original article, so I'd just get the newest Roche.  But bearing in mind they wouldn't be able to get it as cheap as my hospital (and I did mention this!) then they'd more than likely be quids in letting the hospital get it for them, adding ?X on for Admin and reimbursing the hospital, wouldn't they?  Whatever.  Cos it's what they have to pay out that they care about once they've accepted the claim as valid.

They are happy to cover whatever meidical equipment you need that your hospital happens to 'loan' you - C Pap machines, wheelchairs - nebulisers, whatever it is, you are always responsible for em aren't you?

If you travel as we do, it's as well to check the 'away from home' limit - ours was 30 days but you can increase it for ???.

Incidentally we also have other 'stuff' that some insurers refuse to cover (otherwise ours would actually be somewhere else anyway who were cheaper still exceot for these other things) - so all you can do is shop around I'm afraid, same as you do with motor insurance.  And if you have an out of the ordinary vehicle, a lot of companies won't touch them with a bargepole either .....  then you might live on a flood plane, have a flat roof or a thatched one, live in a high (or low) theft postcode area, have a higher risk profession, a criminal record, a poor claims history  ..... whatever it happens to be.

So no, I can't recommend them cos it's impossible without knowing what YOU know about yourself and what you have to insure!


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## MaryPlain (Jan 9, 2013)

Thanks for taking the trouble to post that information.

Of course I am aware that everyone's quote would be different, but in general my experience is that some insurance companies are better at this sort of specific unusual item than others, for example some travel insurance companies just won't consider pre-existing medical conditions while others specialise in it.

In terms of the insured risks, I suppose accidental damage is really the only likely way I'm likely to need to claim for the pump (not likely to lose it or have it stolen I would have thought, though I'd be interested to hear of anyone who knows different!).

Insurance is always a matter of weighing up risks against the cost I suppose. 

Has anyone ever had to make a claim on their insurance for their pump, and wouldn't mind sharing their experience?


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## everydayupsanddowns (Jan 9, 2013)

The only threat of stealing that really worried me was being at a swimming pool and coming back to an emptied locker. Not been swimming in a pool for years, but it would mess up a holiday!


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 9, 2013)

MaryPlain said:


> Has anyone ever had to make a claim on their insurance for their pump, and wouldn't mind sharing their experience?



There was someone on the pump forum who had to claim, they shut the pump in the car door.


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## trophywench (Jan 10, 2013)

I can imagine doing that Sue, not that I have I mean, or even nearly -  but it's just the kind of stupid thing I so easily could.


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## Phil65 (Jan 10, 2013)

trophywench said:


> Oh yes, they use a specialist repairer of THEIR choice if it goes wrong, and they will replace it with what THEY see fit if it goes missing.  They will NOT guarantee it will be the same make even, let alone the same model .......  Not a good plan, IMHO.  I did point these things out to them some time ago .....
> 
> I would just mention here that I spent almost my entire working life nit-picking every word and nuance of insurers' policy wordings and attempting to get the things altered. And got paid quite a lot of money for doing it, cos I was like a terrier down a rabbit hole with the slippery little devils .........[/QUOTE]
> 
> ......never!


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## MaryPlain (Jan 10, 2013)

I must admit, when I read the policy mentioned above, I took the bit about "equivalent specification" to mean that I'd get a similar pump to the one I'd lost. As I don't know much about other pumps apart from what I've read on here, I don't know whether they'd be likely to replace my pump with one I wouldn't like, but it would be a problem if the hospital wouldn't supply the consumables. They only seem to deal with Roche so I'd be stuck if the insurers gave me a Medtronic pump.

On the other hand.... I've been thinking about if I added it to my home insurance, how long a claim would be likely to take.  When I've made claims on insurance in the past I've never received any kind of pay out within a fortnight, which wouldn't be much use to me if my pump died.

Has anyone received any assurances from their home insurance companies about how quickly they would deal with a claim if the pump was damaged or lost?

It also made me wonder about what I'd do if I couldn't get my pump fixed or replaced for more than 24 hours... but I think that calls for another thread!


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## Fandange (Jan 12, 2013)

Pumper_Sue said:


> Pity you didn't read the policy before commiting to it.



Why do you assume that I didn't read the policy?


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## Pumper_Sue (Jan 13, 2013)

trophywench said:


> Oh yes, they use a specialist repairer of THEIR choice if it goes wrong, and they will replace it with what THEY see fit if it goes missing.  They will NOT guarantee it will be the same make even, let alone the same model .......  Not a good plan, IMHO.  I did point these things out to them some time ago .....
> 
> I would just mention here that I spent almost my entire working life nit-picking every word and nuance of insurers' policy wordings and attempting to get the things altered. And got paid quite a lot of money for doing it, cos I was like a terrier down a rabbit hole with the slippery little devils .........





Fandange said:


> Why do you assume that I didn't read the policy?



Hi Fandange,
                 have a read of the above quote by TW, this explains my comment.
I read the policy in exactly the same way as TW. SO imho the policy isn't worth the paper it's written on. Please do note though I have no knowledge of the ins industry. TW worked in the industry for many years and knows her stuff.


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## grandma (Jan 13, 2013)

I have just added my pump on my content old for new insurance and told them it was from the NHS and after a short wile they came back to me and said that was ok with them and they would cover it als put Hubbys moter mobility scoter on as well and it wasent mutch extra on my policy as they werent over ?5000  I can have things up to that on each itam with out any prob.


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## trophywench (Jan 13, 2013)

Grandma, check on the actual cover on that scooter.  May not be covered whilst 'in use' , only at home when it's stationary - since eg if you take lawnmowers, there's usually something about them being 'pedestrian controlled' - sit-on ones are only covered whilst not in use, but there again you don't normally take them off your own premises do you?  But do with a mobility scooter.


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## grandma (Jan 14, 2013)

trophywench said:


> Grandma, check on the actual cover on that scooter.  May not be covered whilst 'in use' , only at home when it's stationary - since eg if you take lawnmowers, there's usually something about them being 'pedestrian controlled' - sit-on ones are only covered whilst not in use, but there again you don't normally take them off your own premises do you?  But do with a mobility scooter.



Thanks for that ill check ill give them a ring in the morning.
Have just got the papers back and it dosent say anything about it just being at home. But ill ring them to make sure.


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## Riri (Jan 25, 2013)

Is have just phoned insurance4insulinpumps as that's who I use. They confirm that their pump replacement policy is like for like and I would get a medtrnoic pump should, something happen to my current one. Got worried when I read previous posters comments but now I'm relieved!


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## trophywench (Jan 25, 2013)

I'll reserve me judgement then until I hear from a real person who's had a real claim and it's all been settled 100% OK.


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