The Millennium Bug

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As told to Royal and Sunalliance customers sometime in the late 1990s. That very little went wrong over the Millennium wasn’t because it didn’t have real potential to mess things up at an unprecedented scale, but due to people like me who did loads of work starting in the early 1990s to make sure that it wouldn’t.

The leaflet glosses over the real technical issues and the potential for them to cause chaos some time (years!) before and after 1st January 2000 of course. But it’s a valiant attempt to explain what might happen without over sensationalising the potential for problems.

I’m tempted to ring RSA today and ask them where I can purchase ‘Year 2000 Compliant’ products. They don’t say that it’s a time limited offer on the final page of the leaflet. I wonder what their response would be ,,,

A chip with pincers. Too few pins to be a Z80 or 6502.

You, Us & The Millennium Bug

Apparently before 2000, all dates were stored as two digits. Hmmm.

This leaflet tells you about a subject you are likely to hear more of as we approach the year 2000.

It explains what the ‘millennium bug’ is, how it might affect items you may own, and the insurance cover you have in respect of those items.

You may wish to refer to it in future, so please keep it with your policy.

What is the ‘millennium bug?’

This is the name given to cover any issues that may arise in the year 2000 because of the way dates are stored on computers and computer chips. Because date are stored as two digits – ’93’ instead of ‘1993’, for example – it is possible that computer programs may not recognise the year 2000 (stored as ’00’) correctly. If this happens, computers and other electronic equipment may malfunction come 1st January 2000.

What’s it got to do with me?

This may affect you in two ways. Firstly, you could find that some organisations cannot provide their usual services come the millennium. If so, it’s probably because their systems are not ‘Year 2000 Compliant’. However, most companies are taking steps to ensure that they can operate normally.

Fortunately all of my Z80 and 6502 based machines are still functioning today, even though they all use a computer chip to operate.

Secondly, you may find that the ‘Millennium Bug’ affects many everyday items that are reliant on a computer chip to work. Such items may include:

  • Central heating controls
  • Burglar alarms
  • Cameras which record the date a photo was taken
  • Cars
  • Microwave ovens
  • Personal computers
  • Video recorders

… and any other item which uses a computer chip to operate.

When 1st January 2000 arrives, you might find that these items cannot perform all the functions they should, or they may not work at all.

How will it affect my policy? As the millennium was a foreseeable event, you’re largely on your own!

How does it affect my insurance policy?

You will be glad to know that there is no change to the cover provided under your policy. However, due to the increasing publicity surrounding this issue and because of the possible effects on your everyday items, we believe that we should explain your cover so you know where you stand.

In general the position is that insurance policies are designed to protect you against damage or loss caused by unforeseeable incidents. The Year 2000 and other date changes are not unforeseeable incidents, which means that, for example …

If your central heating control , or something else which contains a computer chip, should fail on or after 1st January 2000 solely because it does not recognise the date, we will not pay to repair or replace it.

However, if the water pipes in your home were to burst as a result of your central heating system not working, we WOULD pay for the damage caused by the escape of water.

This is exactly what we’d do if an item containing a computer chip were unable to recognise today’s, tomorrow’s or any other date. Whilst the change to 2000 may mean we experience these problems, it won’t affect the way we settle claims. We will continue to pay for unexpected loss or damage, but not for damage caused by foreseeable incidents.

To find out what the cover is under your policy, please read the policy and enclosed schedule. These will provide you with up-to-date details of your policy and include clarification of what is, and what is not, covered in respect of the ‘Millennium Bug’.

Please read it carefully.

Don’t call us, try the British Computer Society, the CSSA or the NCC instead. I wonder if Royal and Sun Alliance asked them if they’d be happy to take calls from their policyholders before publishing this leaflet?

Will the service I receive from Royal and Sunalliance be affected by the ‘bug’?

No. Steps have already been taken to ensure that, as far as we are able, we will be ready for ‘business as usual’ come the millennium. Specifically, we are ensuring that we are still able to:

  • settle your claims efficiently
  • amend you policy details quickly
  • handle your enquiries in a professional & friendly manner
  • accept payments, including those paid by credit card

In short, we will do everything you have the right to expect of us.

If you need any help about year 2000 and your insurance policy, please call us on 0800 300 909

If you fell that you need to find out more about the ‘Millennium Bug’, please contact the following organisations:

The British Computer Society

Computer Services Software Association

The National Computer Centre

If you want to know whether your personal electronic equipment will work on and after 1st January 2000, please either contact the manufacturer direct or the shop where you bought it. Give them the name and model number of the item and ask them if it’s ‘Year 2000 Compliant’.

Alternatively, if you want to know whether any new electronic equipment that you are buying before the millennium is ‘Year 2000 Compliant’, please check with the retailer. If you’d like to know where to buy ‘Year 2000 Compliant’ goods, ring us and we will put you in touch with an accredited supplier.

IMPORTANT: Please keep this leaflet with your policy for reference