Insurance claims make no sense

So my wonderful renter's insurance company has acted in record speed (really, they did...I am not being sarcastic) in cutting a check that would cover my losses from the burglary, but the way they calculated some things make no sense.

First of all, the company can purchase certain new items for me. These items include a new VHS-DVD deck, a Playstation 2, my slam-bang Denon receiver, and an iPod. If I requested the cash value of the items, I would be getting the reduced value. Fair enough. I chose to have the insurance company replace these items, as I really do use all of them. The funny thing about the stolen iPod: it was an old 30 GB photo iPod that could no longer hold a charge for any appreciable amount of time. I was quite honest about this fact when I reported it to the insurance company, but an iPod is an iPod. They informed me that, since the 30 GB iPod Photo is no longer in production, they would have to substitute an 80 GB iPod video and would I give them permission to do so. Umm....yeah.

So then we get to the part of the rest of the check. It ended up being a substantial amount that will adequately cover my losses and enable me to replace most of what was stolen. No, I do not think that I will be getting a replica Darth Vader light saber handle...although...hmmm...

The big thing that was stolen was my behemoth laptop. At the time I purchase said laptop, it was state of the art with all sorts of bells and whistles...and I paid WAY too much for it. So the insurance company cut a check for the depreciated value of the laptop and then informed me that there is $2000 in reserve.

"Reserve for what?" I asked.

"Well, that represents the balance of your laptop in case you need to purchase a new one. If the amount of your new laptop exceeds the amount we allocated for the depreciated value, we will cut a check for that difference up to the $2000 reserve."

"So, in other words, if I purchase a $2000 laptop, that $2000 goes unused and I lose it. However, if I purchase a $4000 laptop, you will cut me a $2000 check to cover the difference?"

"Yes."

DOES THIS MAKE ANY SENSE? So, pretty much, the insurance company is FORCING me to purchase another ridiculous laptop that costs too much. Any suggestions as to types or configurations would be helpful. A FULLY LOADED Macbook Pro still does not come to the amount of $4000. If the Macbooks had Blu-ray, it would be a no-brainer. I invite all of you to provide suggestions for good, reliable laptops. In other words, Dell and Compaq need not apply.