Any good Smartphone Insurance available please?

PapaJas

Hi

I've just taken out a new contract on a Samsung Galaxy Ace mobile phone with phones4u. Signed up with them for phone insurance at the time for £10 per month. This policy is pretty comprehensive but makes the total monthly bill for the phone £25 (contract is £15 pm). Could anyone recommend a good phone insurance policy at the moment cheaper than this please.

Thank you.

InsideInsurance

I accept that I am slightly cynical but would argue that there arent any good mobile phone insurances. Far too many phones get "lost" take a "fall" very near the end of their policy.

As a result of this you end up with very high premiums given that you will be given a reconditioned unit not a new one if you make a claim. Assuming you are on a 2 year contract you will be paying a total of £240 for your insurance and even if you make a claim you'll probably have circa a £50 excess to pay. If you make a claim you pay £50 and you get a used phone which at the moment can be bought on Amazon for £139 and if it happens in a years time that price will be much lower because newer models will have come out pushing down the price of the older models.

Some bank accounts include mobile cover for "free", I think in these cases its ok but would much more suggest putting the £10 aside each month and "self insure" than paying money when your premiums will massively exceed your maximum total payout.

davetrousers

The general consensus is to add it to your home insurance.

InsideInsurance

You can add it to your home insurance but the item new is £188, if you have a standard £100 excess you actually get paid out £88. You lose all your NCD and for the next 5 years have to declare a claim and have loaded premiums.

It would be covered by your home insurance but it is unlikely to be worth claiming for it.

wullien4900

Barclaycard Gadget insurance will cover you from 2.99 per month for a Galaxy Ace

Board_Room

wullien4900 wrote: »

Barclaycard Gadget insurance will cover you from 2.99 per month for a Galaxy Ace

The Barclaycard cover looks good until you read the small print...

"...
Your gadget(s) are covered against theft unless:
It was from a building, land or premises where there was no force used to gain entry or exit, resulting in damage to the building or premises
It happened away from your home and your gadget was unattended
It was from an unattended vehicle, unless of course the item was hidden in a locked compartment, all the vehicle's windows were closed, doors locked and all the security systems were activated
..."

So if there's no forced entry and your gadget is taken you wont be covered. And if you left your phone somewhere (i.e unattended") and it was taken, it wont be covered.

I'd rather pay a higher premium and get better cover.

B R

weighty1_2

I had O2's insurance on my old iPhone 3Gs and our house was burgled (stupidly we'd not locked the door!):(

Home insurance - fine - GREAT
O2 - invalid claim

My argument was that the person who stole it had no right to be in our house door locked or not. They expect you to keep your doors locked even during the day so that sneak thieves can't come in, grab your phone and then do one!

What a waste of money!

Porky100

PapaJas wrote: »

Hi

I've just taken out a new contract on a Samsung Galaxy Ace mobile phone with phones4u. Signed up with them for phone insurance at the time for £10 per month. This policy is pretty comprehensive but makes the total monthly bill for the phone £25 (contract is £15 pm). Could anyone recommend a good phone insurance policy at the moment cheaper than this please.

Thank you.

I went with Barclaycard Gadget Insurance. I looked around for a while but this looked like a good deal from a reputable name.

It was £5.99 a month for iphone cover and £1 extra for loss cover.

InsideInsurance

weighty1 wrote: »

My argument was that the person who stole it had no right to be in our house door locked or not. They expect you to keep your doors locked even during the day so that sneak thieves can't come in, grab your phone and then do one!!

It is increasingly common for Home insurance to require sign of forced or violent entry which traditionally was only a requirement for those with non-family members living in the property.

Especially if you dont have accidental loss cover the fear is that if you lose your phone or if a "friend" steals it then it is too easy to simply register a burglary with the police (who will almost certainly do nothing) and make a bogus insurance claim. Less people are going to smash in their own front door to get a £300 phone covered.