MSE Article discussion: Mobile Phone Insurance

jools23_2

Tillee wrote: »

My son broke the screen on his iPhone4. We emailed the required documents and were then told they needed the exact receipt with proof of IMEI number from the Apple shop. The phone had been replaced as faulty at 4 months old so had a different IMEI number to the purchase receipt. I had sent them an email confirming this from the Apple shop - of course this was not good enough for them. They kept asking for different details on about 4 occasions, it was like an obstacle race. Eventually the phone was repaired and sent back - this took about a month.

We had only had the phone back 2 weeks when he lost it. We pay the extra premium for loss and did have it blocked with O2 within a few hours and reported to the police within 24 hours and also blocked on "find my iphone". Eventually they sent a letter by post saying because the phone was replaced by Apple we would not be requiring their services! The phone was replaced at 4 months old as faulty and that wasn't a problem when the screen was repaired.

I have now appealed and have been told that takes 10 working days, which are up tomorrow and it has been 3 weeks since I first contacted them. I have also told them that if the iPhone was not covered as it had been exchanged as faulty (I saw online that was the excuse given to someone else) I would require the premium to be repaid on 2 policies as they had both been replaced by Apple.

I agree that upon reading the small print the phone is not covered for loss anywhere which I am sure cannot be legal or the policy should not state that you can pay extra for loss but "you can pay extra for loss of phone by violence"!

So watch this space. I am thinking of trying Barclays Bank cover now - any good or bad experience with them please?

Barclays - Poor - I submerged my iPhone 4 in a pool in Corfu 18 months ago - I rang Barclays who wanted to POST out a claim form to me, I would then have to POST it back for them to 'consider'. Then, if my claim was accepted, I would then have to POST the phone to them, for it to be looked at. This would be in addition to the £300 excess as it was water damaged. I was told that it would take 3-4 weeks for the process to wend it's weary way through their 'system'. I phoned Orange (my service provider - and I was about 6 months into a 24 month contract) and, expecting the worst, was told it would cost around £500, which frankly I was expecting - but being nice, and having a lovely lass from Sunderland to speak to - she found that I could, in fact replace it with a new phone (oh, Barclays were only offering refurbished) THE NEXT DAY (which was a Sunday) for £173! Shocked, I paid and was without a phone for precisely 4 days (three of those in Corfu). That confirmed my view of how wonderful Orange were - and I hope EE still are.

jjkaine

Paid £49.39 for the year with My Gadget Buddy or £4.49 a month using discount code aff10. Seems a good deal.

CruisNIg

I read through your guide and didn't see protect your bubble on it??

I've been with them 2 years on my samsung s2 and had 2 screen replacements- £6 per month with £25 excess seems better than all the ones listed on your page- iPhone has £50 excess just like the rest. I had to get front replaced twice and it all went very smoothly- jiffy bag, tracked repair and phone came back in great condition.

5.99 a month or 6.99 with loss cover- if you make a claim you pay your years premium and the excess and are still covered for the rest of the year.

TayloJon9

You recommend Insure & Go for mobile insurance & my wife took out a policy. Then looking at conditions of theft decided that policy was worthless, as has been commented on this thread. She was still within her cooling off period & contacted Insure & Go to cancel the policy.

They acknowledged cancellation request & said they would be in contact within 72 hours.

Insure & Go never got back to her, she then chased them up & they had NOT notified broker of refund request, then washed their hands of her :mad:.

Wife contacted broker directly & they agreed to refund premium given e-mail trail with "Insure & Go" that she provided.

Insure & Go == Bunch of Cowboys - Don't use...

testpilot4321

CruisNIg wrote: »

I read through your guide and didn't see protect your bubble on it??

I've been with them 2 years on my samsung s2 and had 2 screen replacements- £6 per month with £25 excess seems better than all the ones listed on your page- iPhone has £50 excess just like the rest. I had to get front replaced twice and it all went very smoothly- jiffy bag, tracked repair and phone came back in great condition.

5.99 a month or 6.99 with loss cover- if you make a claim you pay your years premium and the excess and are still covered for the rest of the year.

The problem with Burst My Bubble is they just won't pay out for most of the areas you're supposed to be covered, do a search and see the reviews.

I have become somewhat of an expert in this field and know that the FCA (replacement of FSA) are investigating heavily, the primary problem being theft and loss, I would say it's miss-selling as most people simply can't claim.

A much better choice is either:

SquareTrade.co.uk who charge a flat £99 for 2 years cover of an iPhone as long as it's under 30 days old when you take out the warranty.

or

MobileWarranties.com who will cover any smart phone less than a year old from just £29 a year with the discount code FACEBOOK15.

Both companies look to give an excellent level of cover for very little money but don't include theft or loss which as we all know you wouldn't be able to claim on most of the time anyway.

Peanutheed

NX1977 - Never heard of anyone doing that, probably should. Sounds like they are ripping people off left right & centre..

keith234

I have read a lot of the T&C to these insurance policies and now read a number of peoples' bad experiences when they try claim on the insurance- I have also checked the cost of a new phone (ie Samsung Galaxy Y £76.80). It seems that instead of paying the insurance company (insurance £60 +excess £25=£75), and putting the money in a bank account instead, and then if your phone is lost/damaged or stolen, use the saved money to buy a replacement. Is this feasible? Or are there hidden benefits of having the mobile insured?

owen22

keith234 wrote: »

I have read a lot of the T&C to these insurance policies and now read a number of peoples' bad experiences when they try claim on the insurance- I have also checked the cost of a new phone (ie Samsung Galaxy Y £76.80). It seems that instead of paying the insurance company (insurance £60 +excess £25=£75), and putting the money in a bank account instead, and then if your phone is lost/damaged or stolen, use the saved money to buy a replacement. Is this feasible? Or are there hidden benefits of having the mobile insured?

For a phone that will cost less than £100 to replace there is a vaild arguement to paying into a personal 'slush fund' rather than insuring it*. By paying in a monthly amount equivalent to the price of monthly cover (approx £5-£10 per month) it wouldn't take you long to accumulate the cost of replacing the phone outright and you would also not have to pay any excess, jump through hoops with the insurer and would technically be able to replace the phone instantly.

Most people on here, myself included, seem to have more expensive smart phones. My iPhone 4 32Gb has now been discontinued and so, to replace if for an iphone of the same capacity I would have to shell out £599 for a 32Gb iPhone 5.

It would literally take years of paying in £5-£10 per month for a slush-fund to reach £500+ so not insuring it is not a practical option... and the insurance companies seem to know this!


* obviously you would still be gambling on not having to make a claim in the 10-20 months it would take.

cleg100

I would reccomend using a comparison site to compare deals. I used insurance for iphone 5 recently and went with Gadget Cover who seem OK so far. I've heard bad things about the Bubble people. I think the genral problem is that yo can't judge the all round efficiency of a company yourself until you make a claim, Looking at review sites such as review centre can help you build up a picture though.

Xperia_Z

I had a look at insurance2go, and through their Ts&Cs, and it turns out that you have to pay an entire year's worth of insurance before they'll let you make a claim, making it not ideal for anyone who just needs insurance whilst they're travelling. Also, it seems that the only reason they have such a high customer feedback rating is because they make customers review them straight away, not leaving enough time for someone to have to make a claim and then review. After looking closely, it is apparent that this company doesn't regard their customers very well, as many reviews say they've been messed around a lot by insurance2go.