I am getting a server and it's going to be co-located. I am not overly concerned with but would like to get insurance to cover this server.
I really don't have a business so adding it to that is not an option.
Are there any insurance companies that provide a policy for this?

Well of course it depends on the state that you live in.

As insurance is typically regulated by the state.
Before choosing a place to host your server you should ask them some question like these.

Do you have insurance to cover natural disaster, acts of god, theft, etc.?
Do you have insurance to cover property of others?

In the state of florida, We have what is called "Bailee" Insurance.(property of others) It is actually quite a nominal addition to our existing policy.

Hope this helps!

In our experience, most colocation facilities (but of course not all) will *not* take any responsibility for your server. And in fact, most that I have worked with actually require you as the customer to insure your server or they won't allow it in the datacenter.

Since you're not a business, you'll probably have to do this on your personal insurance. If you own a home, you should be able to get a rider on your homeowners' policy to cover this. If you rent, you can probably get a rider on your renters policy. Talk to your insurance agent about it.

If you don't have existing insurance... well, I don't have a suggestion then.

Good luck,

Jason

I think I asked when I had my erver colo'd and it was covered by the NOC. Hmmmm.

I would find a host that <B>does</b> accept responsibility for theft, weather, etc. Data and operations of course are your responsibility, unless you purchase support from them.

Guys... this is the .com world :) Just because they say it is covered.... is this practical? What if they go under?

What if there was a fire? How quick are you going to get a replacement and so forth from an ISP who is likely going to go out of business.... even if everything is "covered" it can take WEEKS or MONTHS to get going again. Remember, if they close shop or have a fire, that ISP has to deal with DOZENS or HUNDREDS of customer servers.

Plus, if it is your own server (co-location, as suggested) -- you have to prep that replacement server and this is extra downtime.


My suggestion, as I do it
======================
Keep a spare server sitting all boxed and ready to slap a UPS / FedEx shipping label on. You never know when you might need a new ISP.

Personally I go with cheap servers (1U $1250) and keep a spare on hand. I can ship my 1U server via UPS for $95.00 overnight to about anyplace in USA. As long as I call UPS by 4:00pm (I think, I've never called later than 3:00pm) they will have it to the site by 10:30am of the time zone of the COLO.

My insurance cost is that $1250 + $100 shipping.
I should be able to replace a server in under 24 hours 6 days a week.

Figuring the cost savings of co-location vs. leasing a server, it takes me 6 months or less to pay for that spare server... plus it can be a big advantage when upgrade time comes or when we have rapid growth.

REFERENCE: I homebuilt 1U servers at around $1250 each which includes $1000 parts and $250 for labor to assemble and test. Intel 933Mhz, 512MB RAM, 40GB 7200RPM hard drive, extra fans, all good quality parts. There are also local dealers who sell the same basic system for only slightly more... if I didn't want to do it myself.

Of course, i think the days of co-location cheaper than leasing may be numbered. With the advent of high-density blade-based racks that can hold hundreds of systems... more and more, leasing will be cheaper (and quicker). But today, I can still do my own system cheaper than a lease system, especially if Windows and not Linux.

Stephen Gutknecht
Renton, Washington