MSE Article discussion: Mobile Phone Insurance

petershare

thanks thearcher,
Perhaps as you have bought your I phone from an e bay re-seller, not registered for VAT, the insurer is able to wriggle as your unopened, pristine phone will be technically treated as second hand, even though it will be covered by apple's warranty? I suspect that these cowboys have got legions of lawyers poring over fine print finding them opportunities to refuse cover and claims.

thearcher

petershare wrote: »

thanks thearcher,
Perhaps as you have bought your I phone from an e bay re-seller, not registered for VAT, the insurer is able to wriggle as your unopened, pristine phone will be technically treated as second hand, even though it will be covered by apple's warranty? I suspect that these cowboys have got legions of lawyers poring over fine print finding them opportunities to refuse cover and claims.

Yes, this is perhaps true however according to MSE via the below link, look at the table and they highlight Insurance2Go as being the only company in that list that will insure handsets less than 6 months old purchased from auction sites.

moneysavingexpert.com/news/insurance/2014/09/bought-a-secondhand-mobile-phone-insuring-it-may-prove-difficult

I am not saying that I2Go cant change their minds but I am relying upon MSE to be providing me with good advice and with what I am reading it looks like perhaps they may just be advertising the company since their run down of Mobile insurance companies has them highlighted multiple times as a best buy however if you look at the complaints online and taking into consideration that if purchase a phone from the worlds largest online market place (eBay) then they wont cover you.

MSE need to update their recomendations making clear that they do not cover these products since they advertise that they do and I would also suggest they recommend doing what I myself have done - pre-empt a claim by providing all relevant documentation for proof of purchase etc. upfront so to ensure the insurance company doesn't try to wriggle out of it 6/12/18 months down the line after you have parted with your money believing you were covered.

I'm on the hunt for another insurance provider now and seriously considering just selling my new phone and buying another one but this time direct from Apple along with their Apple Care+ insurance. May not be the cheapest but I'm pretty sure if it ever comes to the need of claiming there wont be any nasty surprises.

Anyone want to buy a week old iPhone 6 128GB Space Grey?

testpilot4321

My issue with Apple Care+ is the price £79.00 and the limitations of what you can claim for.

If you are happy not to have theft and loss on your insurance (as I am is you will rarely be able to claim on it anyway) then there are better priced alternatives.

If your phone is almost brand new there's squaretrade.co.uk who charge £99 for 2 years.

My phone was a little older so I went with mobilewarranties.com who charged me £29 for a years cover on my iPhone 5S.

RichardZ

Good tip. Sounds very good value! My iPhone is 4 months old. Do you think I can still cover it with mobilewarranties.com or will it be too old? Thanks.

testpilot4321

RichardZ wrote: »

Good tip. Sounds very good value! My iPhone is 4 months old. Do you think I can still cover it with mobilewarranties.com or will it be too old? Thanks.

As long as you have the original purchase receipt then Mobile Warranties will insure you for any phone that is less than 12 months old.

Retread

Comparing companies who offer iPhone insurance I was drawn to a Zurich owned company "Endsleigh" who showed a very good rate. I have four family phones and wanted to cover all. I filled in the extensive application but was stopped by the message "we cannot offer you cover". It then went on to say that they do not insure anyone over 99. I went over the application form to make sure I had my date of birth correctly entered and confirmed with my wife that to the best of her knowledge I was under 99!!!!! So I phoned Endsleigh and was told that they would not offer cover to anyone who was retired!!!!! I have not come across this before as I thought the grey pound was a popular currency.

petershare

Bizarre stand to take by Endsleigh when one would suspect that retirees are probably the least risky group to cover. Hardly likely to drop their phone on the dance floor are they, and are generally much more careful about personal possessions than young adults?!! Endsleigh started out as the insurer for students owned by the National Union of Students when I was at University, so this may be behind an inherent policy not to insure retirees;just a thought.

Titanium

Had a call from American Express introducing their My Essential policy which basically covers ANY gadgets (smartphones, laptops), possessions (jewelries, watches), luggages, your house and car keys for the ENTIRE FAMILY MEMBERS in cases of lost, stolen and ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE for £12.99 a month. What makes this policy extra special is that it has ZERO excess. In my opinion, compared to Nationwide FlexPlus of £120 this is a fantastic policy, without having to open an account with them. I thanked the agent and said I am not looking for one but promised her to share this deal to the world, hoping someone may find it useful. This is an over the phone policy; whose number can be found on the weblink.

SMarg

My one comment would be to read the t&cs carefully. I insured my Samsung S3 mini for a year and when it came to renewal I read the terms and conditions & would only have been covered had my original invoice contained the IMEI number which it didn't.


I took this up with Amazon who contacted the company but got nowhere in getting this information on the invoice.


Also, when ordering my phone I placed the order for a white phone and received blue. From previous comments online I expected this might happen but as it would be in a case I didn't both to exchange it.


My order online was for a white phone but I wanted to insure one which was blue so again I wouldn't have been covered and my first year's insurance was a waste of money as in the event of claim I would have had no cover.

gypsylee123

can anybody tell me how i can insure 2 mobile phones that where brought for my children as christmas presents by my ex partner who brought them on his contract, we have the imie numbers but he has now told ee that they are lost or stolen, i have changed to a sim only contract as we no longer speak and i am finding it very difficult as i cant prove ownership of these devices, please somebody help me i am tearing my hair out here. :mad: