MSE Article discussion: Mobile Phone Insurance

Classy12

You cannot insure a phone after you have lost it?!?

The ONLY phone insurance to have is the one that comes with your phone and contract that the provider offers. I know it is expensive but I found with Insurance2go and all the others, you may as well just put a match to your money and watch it burn.

Iphone5 now insured with Vodafone when I got it. No problem there.

Tbag

I agreed to take out a mobile phone contract on behalf of my grandson who was yet to turn 18. He lives with me part of the week while he attends college though his permanent address is with his mother. I decided to insure it through insure2go having read the recommendations on this site to price insurance rather than accept those of the phone companies. Unfortunately he lost his phone when skiing in France and when I tried to claim for its loss they said that I could not claim for it because he was not a close family member living permanently with me! I didn't even think he would not be covered as I am closer to him than my own son and you would hardly take out a contract for someone who is not a close family member. Granny and granda's beware!

dacouch

Tbag wrote: »

I agreed to take out a mobile phone contract on behalf of my grandson who was yet to turn 18. He lives with me part of the week while he attends college though his permanent address is with his mother. I decided to insure it through insure2go having read the recommendations on this site to price insurance rather than accept those of the phone companies. Unfortunately he lost his phone when skiing in France and when I tried to claim for its loss they said that I could not claim for it because he was not a close family member living permanently with me! I didn't even think he would not be covered as I am closer to him than my own son and you would hardly take out a contract for someone who is not a close family member. Granny and granda's beware!

Who was the policy with?

Does their policy define what they class as a "close family member" in their definition of words in the policy?

Does the policy stipulate he needs to live with you?

Dr_B_2

Titanium wrote: »

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.

The excess isn't £120 for Flexaccount Plus is it? On their site the Excess is listed as £100 iphone lost or stolen; £50 other lost or stolen; £50 iphone damage or breakdown, £20 other damage or breakdown.

Flaexaccount Plus can mean expensive overdrafts though, unless you're regularly overdrawn by £1'000 or not often overdrawn at all, due to the 50p daily fixed cost for overdrafts instead of charging interest. The advice on this site omits to mention this and therefore makes the Flexaccount Plus sound better than it actually is IMO.

Bozo0983

So, I read a few bits and bobs here and wasn't sure about a few things so thought I better read the T's & C's for Insure2go and it turns out if you buy the mobile phone through ebay it is not insured.

I also checked out Protect your bubble, they also don't insure phones bought through ebay.

Bit of a !!!!!! really as I went to a reputable online store and found the phone I wanted I then phone that the online store also had an ebay store where the phone was £5 cheaper and came with a free case. So naturally I bought it. Now it would seem that perhaps the deal wasn't quite so good after all.

So bare that in mind if you're looking to buy a new mobile and insurance at the same time, getting a few quid off from ebay might not always be good.

I've found an insurance company called Switched On Insurance. They seem to be a similar price to all the big names, but they mention nothing about where the phone is purchased from. The wording for their loss/theft seems to be a little nicer than the afore mentioned PYB and I2G.

Anyone dealt with Switched On? Are they any good.

Thanks and good luck out there...

knackered_ninja

Ive had to claim for 3 damaged phones since christmas for my 13 year old twins,on each occasion Tesco phone insurance has been excellent providing a replacement within 24hrs.
Insurance has to be purchased with the phones and limited to two claims a year. Worth considering if buying a new phone.
Twin one has now reached his two claims so ive just started looking for a new mobile phone insurance provider.

kodys_angel

Hi Bozo,

Currently looking into insurance for iPhone... My friend recommends switched on. She dropped her phone and the screen smashed. Water then got into the cracks so then also had water damage... Claim process took about a week - had to call and make a claim, pay excess, received a confirmation email and address to send the phone to with print out of the email. Only downside was that she had to cover the postage. New/reconditioned phone was posted back to her and the whole process was about a week in total.
Looking like the best option at the moment coupled with what you have pointed out about the wording on some of the other policies.
Having been a regular user of the underground I can't believe that pickpocketing can be excluded from a policy! When you're crammed in like sardines on the Victoria line at rush hour you'd have to have your phone down your pants in order to have it out of reach of potential pickpockets!

Granada210

Has anyone go more recent experience of Insure2go as older posts here are dreadful but they seem to have changed the name of the policy and in view of the story about the FCA making the insurers improve their service I wondered if things were any better? I was looking at using them but have been put off by the reviews - I wonder if Martin can comment on why he is recommending a company who are apparently so bad??

khakilad

What do people think to http://www.hiccup.co.uk they say that they don't need a proof of purchase as they ask you to download one of their apps which then proves you have the phone.

They have five stars with Defacto and offer next day replacement via an online claim portal.

Would be good if anyone has experience.

thanks

mickhooper

Hi, I just tried to use MSE's latest code (MSEIPHONE) to insure my daughters new iphone 6 on the insurance2go site for the top of the range cover @ £6.99 per month and the site says invalid discount code. Any ideas?