Mobile Phone Insurance 'Loss' cover

prnorth

I am currently looking at mobile phone insurance. A couple of the providers I have looked at have a confusing clause for loss insurance. One says 'Loss will not cover unattended items' the other says 'Loss will not cover items left unattended in public or in places which the public could access.'

What exactly do they mean by this?

Is it possible to lose something without it being left unattended?

InsideInsurance

Loss can be it falls out of your pocket or you drop it and it goes down a gutter. What they are excluding is where you put it in your sports bag and then leave the bag in the changing rooms whilst you go swimming and when you get back the bags open and the phone's gone.

prnorth

That would be theft rather than loss though wouldn't it?

InsideInsurance

Loss and theft can be difficult to distinguish for certain.... I once had an hour argument with the police over the fact that my briefcase had been stolen but they said it had been lost.

If you left the phone on a table in the pub as you went to the bar and came back and couldn't find it it may have been stolen or it may have been accidentally knocked off the table by someone and gone out of sight somewhere. My situation was similar but with a briefcase under the table and the police stated that because I didnt see someone steal it then it was lost property instead and so refused to give a crime reference number. I'm sure it had nothing to do with their solved crime rate.

prnorth

I've had a similar thing with reporting stolen mobile phones - twice i've been mugged, not injured but had them grabbed from me.

Both times the police said that they could find no evidence of a crime. One time they had looked at CCTV in the wrong place - could have investigated better myself, but I presume that is to keep the unsolved crime rate down and possibly because they have a preconception that any mobile theft reported to them is fraudulent

maggsy105

Hi guys,

I work for large mobile phone insurance company and deal with claims day in day out. Most T&C's of insurance are really judged and applied when first contact is taken from the agent you report the incident to, it is pretty much what the cusotomer who is making the claim says at the time and how the T&C'S will then be judged according to the incident description.

Loss is not covered 'if left unattended in a public place' - this as a declined example could include - 'I was in a pub, I put the phone down on the bar to go to toilet - I came back and it had gone' - Instant decline left unattended in a public place.

Had you said, 'I was in a pub, I put the phone down at the bar, I told my friend who was next me to keep an eye on it for me, I came back and it had gone, not sure what had happend' - no decline - reasonable precautions have been taken to prevent incident - this is another T&C that insurance compaines use.

When making a claim it really is how you word the incident to the claims agent

Any other questions please ask I will be able to answer