Absolutely devastated - lost my brand new watch

Less than two weeks ago I purchased a Garmin Forerunner 945 to help track my daily cycles and work outs. It cost £519 and was worth every penny. I've not treated myself in a while and I really loved the spec/features the watch had.

I went for a late night gym session yesterday and finished at 11:40pm, the locker room of the gym closes at midnight. I have no idea how it happened, but I left the watch inside my locker and didn't take it with me. It's very unlikely that it was taken during the night, but more likely that somebody came in the gym at 6:00 (when the locker room opens up again) - 9:00am, saw it lying there and took it then. I very rarely lose items, especially items of value. I've never lost a wallet, passport, phone or even damaged a phone, so insurance isn't something I usually purchase. The only reason I purchased this one was actually for accidental damage.

It receives GPS, but doesn't emit it so I can't track the device nor can I get Garmin to blacklist it or block it. It connects very well when the device is near, so I'm certain I haven't misplaced it at home - i'm almost 100% certain it was left in my locker over night. It has not been handed in.

I have the highest level of insurance on the watch and because it's within a month of the policy start date there is a hefty £125 excess to pay - fine, it is what it is. I'm beyond mad at myself but still... Accidental loss is covered and I have all relevant documents to supply.

In the insurance policy document I noticed that there is absolutely no mention of a cash payout. There is mention of repair or replacement.

That's fine....however....the item actually isn't even out in the UK. The vendor I purchased from had a limited early release batch of stock. As far as I'm aware, only two UK based suppliers actually stock this watch. It's not available on Amazon, nor on the official Garmin website. There isn't even a release date...

I had spoken to an advisor from the insurance company and she told me that in terms of replacement, they search for a refurbished model, but because this is so brand new, how would they find one? It's my understanding that insurers would have preferred suppliers were they receive discounts, like Amazon, but how can they replace my Garmin like-for-like if it's only available from one-two particularly niche retailers?

In the policy document, it states that where economic repair is not available, like for like replacement is the next sought after option, but as above I mention that it's not really available. The advisor then said that I could be issued Amazon vouchers/PC World vouchers, which are completely useless to me. I can't use those to purchase the item.

Furthermore, the policy document states that they can look for an alternative model of "similar specs". But what is similar specs? Who gets to decide what constitutes "similar specs"? I'll be absolutely furious if they try and replace it with an older model. How can a top of the range, brand new fitness watch have anything of equal specs? surely they cant give me something inferior? It's like if you lose a Samsung S9, and they replace it with a S8 - those specs are "similar" but the latter is obviously lesser in both value and spec, but only just.




There is no mention of payout via vouchers in any of my policy documents nor mentioned at any stage of the taking out the policy online. This was mentioned verbally by the advisor. Can I refuse this if offered?

The reason I'm posting this is I'd just like advice from people who have undergone a claim and have an understanding of the process. The advisor I spoke to couldn't really answer my questions and had to repeatedly ask a collegue or say "your claims handler will advise.."..

I don't ****ing want PC world vouchers, I just want a replacement of the exact model! I bought this particular one for a reason, so don't really want anything deemed 'comparable'.

Any pearls of widsom appreciated.

Should have read your policy documents 🤷

Of course I did? I researched for hours and this one seemed the most comprehensive/best value with a good payout rate.

I didn't anticipate losing it, especially this quickly given my record of looking after my expensive stuff. The only reason I took it off was because I kept bashing it when lifting weights. So I put it away to protect it.

Presumably if you read them you'd be happy with the terms.. and therefore happy with the vouchers..

Is anybody ever happy with insurance policy terms?

What I'd ideally want is replacement from a chosen vendor by myself. I don't necessarily want the cash. Is this sort of thing common?

I'm pretty happy with my current gadget insurer - they've given me cash to repair and replace things no problem.

It's completely up to the company as to how they deal with your claim. Unfortunately, no one here will be able to provide anything other than speculation.

speculation based on previous experience is more than the lady at the insurers could offer.

Who is your current insurance provider?

should have got a proper sports watch like a Breitling or an Omega