I can easily justify spending upwards of $1500 on a machine I will heavily use for several years. But it's much harder to justify buying a $1500 laptop that could be stolen or spilled on any time I take it out of the house. (Just one "incident" is enough to finish my investment.)
Your homeowner's/renter's insurance should cover items stolen from your person outside of the home (I'm not clear on the legal wording, but my insurance covered a stolen iPhone.).
Moreover, anything can be stolen from you or become otherwise lost or incapacitated. Do you have a laptop that is theft and spill proof?
