Data recovery can be expensive, especially if the damage to the media is physical and requires a lot of work to get the data back. While some insurers will pay for part or all of the cost of data recovery in the event of an accident, it does fall into a grey area on many plans.
Ultimately, the best way to find out if data recovery can be claimed back on your insurance is to speak with your insurance agent. There are, however, some things to bear in mind when it comes to data recovery and insurance. Typically, if your data has been lost as a result of a logical failure, or accidental damage, it’s unlikely your insurance plan will cover the costs of data recovery. In the event of a natural disaster like a fire, flood or storm, though, you might have more luck. Be sure to obtain a detailed technical report from the data recovery engineer working on your device, detailing what is wrong and what is likely to have caused the damage.
It is also heavily dependent on the type of insurance you have, and whether you’re a business or home user. Most homeowner’s insurance policies won’t cover the cost of data recovery; you’re much more likely to have a successful claim for data recovery under a business insurance plan. There are some exceptions, though. Some policies include coverage for intellectual property, which some data can fall under. A photographer or writer might have lost their photos or draft of their novel respectively – this type of data recovery might be covered by your insurance. Data recovery is often not specified in insurance documents, so it might be worth putting up a fight and arguing that it legally should be covered if your terms are ambiguous, especially if you’re a business. Again, having a report from your data recovery specialist outlining the damage your hard drive has sustained could help your case.
There are data recovery insurance plans that you can take out separately, although you should be aware of caveats. While many hard drive manufacturers offer data recovery insurance when you buy their drives, we’d advise against taking a plan like this out. Hard drive manufacturers will often restrict your options significantly, like not letting you choose your data recovery firm.
