Now that everybody can afford a cell phone, laptop and MP3 player, it seems insurance companies are taking huge hits. Tower, a New Zealand-based insurance outfit, quotes "in excess of $750,000 per annum and rising" in claims for portable electronics. And unfortunately for them, being drunk and leaving your mobile in a cab is a good enough reason to collect. Not that I'VE ever done anything like that, unless "being hopped up on ether" counts as drunk and you can call "Air Force One" a taxi.

Oh, they also suspect some people may actually just want to upgrade their stuff and be LYING about stolen or lost goods. I mean, who do they think we are? Now, um, where did I leave that damn Vaio I got for Hanukah last year...

Insurers fret over gadgets [Stuff.co.nz]

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