Saturday 30 January 2010

Digital Music Downloads 'may be uninsured', Warns Experts

Experts have warned music lovers could find their digital music collections may not be covered by some home insurance policies.

The UK has amassed an estimated total of £1.3 billion music downloads from legitimate digital music sites, but less than one-quarter of polices include cover for digital tracks, claims a study by Sainsbury's Home Insurance.

It is thought that around 36 per cent of British adults now own some music that they have downloaded, with the average collection to be worth £85, although nearly one million fans say they have spent more than £250 on digital music.

The report also showed that only five per cent of music lovers know that their digital collection is included in their home insurance, while almost one-quarter think they would not be covered if it was lost.

However, the bank warned that the rise in downloaded music has not been followed by an increase in safety, with 76 per cent of home insurance policies not offering coverage for the hard drives and storage systems which hold the music.

This means that if a home is burgled, the user will lose all of their downloaded tunes without hope of recompense, Sainsbury's claimed.

Ben Tyte, home insurance manager at the bank, said: 'There may be an assumption from consumers that once they've made a purchase any loss could be recovered from the retailer but most outlets only allow for a single download.

'The likes of Amazon and iTunes do offer receipts via online accounts so even if a computer was totally destroyed the customer would be able to retrieve these and claim for their loss on their home insurance policy. It's also a good idea to back-up your collection onto another computer as a precautionary measure.'

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