insurance

Not unless you arrange it - when we had the fire (smoke damage) my whole system was taken away by Darran of class A fame, but I had to check with the loss adjuster before doing so to get authorisation. It would be surprising if your insurer was geared up to use naim approved repairers without you insisting on it. And some insurers may not comply

they are taking it to test if it truly is broken I think.CD5 definitely not working and NAC 102 balance and volume not playing .I don't think they can replace the CD player now though.I have told the insurance people that I don't want anyone but Naim to fix it.Perhaps the HI-FI gods will be looking down on me and it be all fixed like new.

When my SBLs were damaged I took them to the local dealer who sorted it all out, then sent the receipt to the insurance company and they paid me. I certainly wouldn't let some random person in a van take my Naim stuff away. You need to arrange something sensible with the insurance company. 

Am I right in thinking that its quite difficult to get the CD5 repaired nowadays due to its age?

Philips ceased production of the VAM1205 around 15 year ago and Naim's stock or spares ran out a few years back.  I believe there are 3rd party 'VAM1205" mechs around from dubious sources but the spec is variable and the quality is nothing like the originals so Naim don't touch them.  But apart from the mech, Naim should be able to repair most anything else on the CD5.

thank you Richard.Thats music to my ears.

When my sister in law's house was water damaged by a leaking pipe, the loss adjuster stipulated that all the electronic equipment that was in the affected area be disposed of even if not directly affected by the water, because it had been in water-saturated air for the several weeks before that decision was made so had to be considered elecrically unsafe. My sister in law had no say in it.

It seemed to her - and I couldn't help agreeing- that there's a fiddle on somewhere, and thatbthis stuff wasn't going for destruction butbsomeone would test and re-sell. Of course, it could have been legitimate, with that being the insurance company's way of recovering what they could, but it is open to third parties gettin in and abusing... 

maybe they will replace then

Simon Lovell posted:

they are taking it to test if it truly is broken I think.

Who are 'they'?

Why aren't you boxing up the damaged gear and taking it to your Naim dealer in the first instance?

It all sounds astonishingly vague.

Chris

I must admit, if something happened to my Naim gear, I would be very strongly dictating the terms as best as I could on the whole repair or replacement process. The adjuster would be made to understand in no uncertain terms that this isn't consumer audio crap that is best thrown away, and that only certain people are qualified to assess it and repair it. I would venture that most of them cannot fathom a $3,000+ CD player.

They surely wouldn't just be coming to "take it away" without me knowing EXACTLY where it was going and who was going to touch it.

In fact, if I have wondered if it would not be prudent to contact my insurance company and explain the cost of these items so it is (a) recorded in advance, and (b) understood that this isn't Sony stuff from Best Buy. On my guitars I actually carry a separate policy with a company that only insures musical instruments, so they do not flip out at the idea of a $5,000 classical guitar, since they insure all kinds of expensive instruments for professional musicians. (They also have a MUCH better off-site coverage policy, whereas typical homeowner insurance covers essentially nothing if my guitar gets damaged at another venue, such as a friend's house.)

With such specialized items as high end audio and such I am very leery of insurance companies, as my experience is they are much better at collecting premiums than paying claims...and if they do pay, they will sometimes drop you. (Learned that the hard way as a very young man who was completely wet behind the ears.)

Over here in Canada they generally won't pay more than $5k for an individual item, unless it is named and you are paying a premium as a result.  All the legally stuff should be listed in the fine print of your insurance - hint, have a magnifying glass handy as it normally is really small print.  The other thing to consider is does the contents amount truly cover everything in the house - should a worse case situation occur. It's also a good idea to scan & keep receipts for bigger ticket items and take photo's of rooms for memory jogging when filling in claim forms - my sister in law found out the hard way when they had a house fire, that they where seriously under covered...

Here in Oz, I have taken out insurance which allows a new for old replacement if my kit is damaged. It is something which must be specified before writing up the policy.

Look up Terry Prachet's Diskworld series and the principle of in-sewer-ants as defined by Twoflower.

I just renewed my contents insurance, and during the quotation process had to notify them of items which would cost over a certain amount to replace. In this case, £1500 new for old, so obviously my Naim gear is on the list.

I thought that was standard. If anyone hasn't done something similar, I'd recommend checking the details of the policy, as you may not be covered.

i am covered up to £2500 per item.so ok there

Just renewed my home insurance. I've gone with John lewis. The Premier level is simple, covers everything I have, unlimited contents and no problem with expensive hifi, business use, etc.. Got an online quote, then rang, went through all the details on their recorded line. The reviews are great and the customer service was excellent. I also get a free Nest Protect for free, which is a nice addition. I have gone with them

While I had all these stats/figures in my head, I went onto the Hiscox site and asked for a quote. Hiscox was 2 1/2 times the amount. Oh dear.

Renewed my Home and Contents Policy last week with AXA  via my local Swinton Branch.

Anything with an individual value of over £2000 has to be listed on the Policy so all of my Naim kit is listed as such all covered for accidental damage,water damage ingress etc etc on a new for old basis.

The only query was the Super Lumina speaker cables the broker asked if they could be purchased on an individual basis at £1850 each, I did ring my dealer and he advised that they should be replaced as pairs so they are listed as such.

The quote was very reasonable with a fairly low excess charge.

Christopher_M posted:

Simon Lovell posted:

they are taking it to test if it truly is broken I think.

Who are 'they'?

Why aren't you boxing up the damaged gear and taking it to your Naim dealer in the first instance?

It all sounds astonishingly vague.

Chris

yes i agree ' boxup send in for cost of damage / replacement ...Take /fax /call in the naim quote to the insurance company..??

DrMark posted:

I must admit, if something happened to my Naim gear, I would be very strongly dictating the terms as best as I could on the whole repair or replacement process. The adjuster would be made to understand in no uncertain terms that this isn't consumer audio crap that is best thrown away, and that only certain people are qualified to assess it and repair it. I would venture that most of them cannot fathom a $3,000+ CD player.

They surely wouldn't just be coming to "take it away" without me knowing EXACTLY where it was going and who was going to touch it.

In fact, if I have wondered if it would not be prudent to contact my insurance company and explain the cost of these items so it is (a) recorded in advance, and (b) understood that this isn't Sony stuff from Best Buy. On my guitars I actually carry a separate policy with a company that only insures musical instruments, so they do not flip out at the idea of a $5,000 classical guitar, since they insure all kinds of expensive instruments for professional musicians. (They also have a MUCH better off-site coverage policy, whereas typical homeowner insurance covers essentially nothing if my guitar gets damaged at another venue, such as a friend's house.)

With such specialized items as high end audio and such I am very leery of insurance companies, as my experience is they are much better at collecting premiums than paying claims...and if they do pay, they will sometimes drop you. (Learned that the hard way as a very young man who was completely wet behind the ears.)

Perhaps based on hard experience you take a skeptical view of insurance companies.  My previous experience has been fairly positive - you should advise them upfront of the true replacement cost for each component and the overall replacement cost. The replacement cost (not what I paid) for my kit is currently around £40k and, even though the rest of the contents of our fairly modest chateau amounted to about the same amount the insurance company wanted to insure on the basis of a total of £100k for all contents.  The last time I made a claim for an Akiva cartridge that had been accidentally damaged Skandia sent a loss adjuster to my house and to my then hifi dealer. In the end they paid up to replace it.

all sorted.unfortunately both my NACD5 and NAC102 are beyond repair so now need some advice from everyone on what to replace with.Only got a couple of grand to play with though.Still have my NAP250 and my flatcap.need to use with my project carbon .Any advice would be most welcome.

Ooo..  with a couple of grand you could be looking at something like a CDX/XPS and a NAC82.  Or perhaps, if you're feeling brave, a nice CDS.  I seem to recall seeing a nice example for sale just the other day on a dealer site.  Risky (replacement mechs are now very hard to find), but lovely all the same.  As you have a NAP250, I assume you already have the Hicap for the NAC282?

Otherwise, if you wish too move to the new world of streaming, then an ex dem or s/h NAC-N272 could be a good move.  Plenty here like this one...

My insurance company doesn't require stereo equipment to be listed as individual items, yet they do offer new for old replacement of unlimited value. The only things which have to be specified are 'valuables' which in insurance terms seems to mean jewellery. Bicycles also had to be listed. All that being said, we don't have any valuable jewellery but the premium is still fairly astronomic.

Last year I dropped an LP record whilst turning it over and it put a ding in the edge of my turntable plinth. That was also covered by a policy (different provider) offering new for old replacement, but they still wanted to come and take the turntable away for repair. I could foresee all sorts of damage being done to the sub-chassis, suspension, top plate, bearing pillar etc. In the end I decided to forget the insurance and took the opportunity to trade it in for a Woodsong plinth. As Blackadder said, "Needs must when the devil vomits on your eiderdown". 

unfortunately no I do not Richard .I have an old flatcap.

Different insurance companies seem to demand different things. One company I insured with was only interested in the worth of separate items so classed the tone arm separately from the cartridge, separately from the deck. Another charged me a premium for having a 'collection' of records, which they deemed valuable as if it had been purposefully collated rather than the result of random purchases over 30 years. The current company are much more straightforward: new for old, accidental damage and only interested in jewellery or watches valued over £2k.

Does anyone have experience of whether insurers truly supply new for old, and how they value things when

1. You have something that was discontinued a long time ago? Or
2. You bought secondhaned?