Disney takes ‘Lost’ seriously: A Disney iPod insurance plan is revealed
Posted by Dennis Sellers 
Nov 28, 2005 at 8:00am
On Oct. 12, Apple and Disney introduced their landmark deal that brought current and past episodes of ABC’s hit television programming such as “Night Stalker,” “Desperate Housewives” and “Lost” to iPod owners. Now it’s been revealed that Disney will be taking “Lost” to a whole new level: A Disney insurance program for Apple’s iPod!
The designs for this plan were recently revealed to Macsimum News and the credible source behind this information will be revealed this week.
A peek at this insurance plan
The plan contemplates a replacement program for media purchased for the iPod, such as movies, broadcast content, trailers, music, voice recordings, photos, other images, personal video content and data in general. The insurance program provides for either replacement of lost or damaged media, a monetary payment or both.
If the user experiences a computer system crash, drive crash, or suffers from damaged or corrupted files, insurance, previously paid for by the user, would replace or otherwise compensate for the previously downloaded file. The plan would also cover a lost or stolen iPod. Previously downloaded files are locked to a specific iPod to thwart fraud and illegal distribution. If the original software is lost, or has been upgraded, the insurance provides an upgrade by either installing a new program, build on the original program, reinstallation of the original program, if corrupted or otherwise lost.
Preferably, the user’s purchase of the software program to be downloaded to the user’s iPod is logged into a database provided by the originator of the program. This may be carried out in a number of ways, including, but not limited to, the login identification of the user, the serial number or other information relating to the specific iPod, the insurance policy purchased by the user, etc. That is, the disclosure herein provides for a system that tracks the consumer’s purchase (e.g., user ID, iPod serial number, purchase date, content title, price, where the data or media was purchased, file type, format/resolutions, etc.) and, in case of lost or damaged media, either automatically or manually sends a replacement file (electronically or physically) to the consumer or otherwise compensates the consumer. This file can be loaded automatically or manually to an iPod (i.e., on to the same iPod, or, in case of theft, on to a new iPod). If the latter is the case, and the iPod is a replacement, a record is kept identifying the serial number of the lost or stolen device.
If the user’s program crashes, the insurance policy may be activated automatically when the player is connected up to a computer with an open internet connection, or by telephone, etc. The home server or program originator may detect the loss of content or program corruption automatically and provide a replacement program. The detection would include determining the coverage of the insurance policy, whether full coverage of any downloaded program, or specific to a single program, or a combination of programs. The specific software program that was lost or damaged is thus replaced with a new program along with a new license or insurance program. Such new license or insurance program would render the original program obsolete so that, if the original program was somehow recovered, it will not play. The insurance program may have some flexibility in the number of times a claim may be made under the program, such by user or the people in the user’s household, their specific iPod, the particular content, etc. and how the program is replaced (e.g., by sending a new file, the original file, a key to unlock a file at some remote location, etc.). Alternatively, the owner may be compensated for such loss.
Additional details of Disney’s insurance plan will be posted later this week.
Hmm, this kind of reminds me of the famous American Express marketing slogan of “Don’t leave home without it.” That just may be the way we view this insurance program, once all of the details are made known.
Right idea for our times
The idea behind an insurance plan for the iPod or any other hot digital device for that matter is simply right for our times. Sadly, earlier this year, 15 year old Christopher Rose was killed by teenage thugs, after apparently resisting giving up his iPod, reported CNN/Money. If you’re a parent, or simply a decent human being, that news had to sting. What a waste of a precious life.
And while insurance is only one small measure at remedying such tragedy in the future, it’s another tool for parents to consider when buying their children popular digital devices for a special occasion, that’s worth every penny. Disney’s core market is the family, and this is an excellent idea that’s right for the times we live in.
In the bigger picture, Disney’s coverage as indicated thus far goes far beyond traditional stolen property insurance, to cover that of lost or damaged digital content – which today, is worth more than the device itself over time. The good news is that Disney’s plan includes the right technology that will in fact be able to verify a users’ claim. On one hand, this will avoid false claims, and on the other, it will avoid a user from being under compensated due to the lack of proof of what content was in fact lost or destroyed. It’s simply a smart solution.
If Disney’s pricing for this plan is reasonable, this could be a huge new mass market for them to serve. And if Disney’s insurance program proves successful, expect others in this industry to jump on this new market trend like lightning.
Welcome to the Next Wave of insurance policies, designed for the era of smart digital devices.
neo@macsimumnews.com
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Contributor
Dennis Sellers
Dennis has been a newspaper editor/reporter (seven years) and teacher (seven years). He has over 4,000 magazine, newspaper and online articles to his credit. He has also covered the Mac and tech industries for over a decade for such online publications as MacCentral, MacMinute and now MacsimumNews.
