MSE Article discussion: Mobile Phone Insurance

ChrisBristol

I insured my Sony Xperia Z3+ last July when it was brand new, through insurance2go as recommended on MSE. The premium was £59.99, which seemed reasonable. It's a contract phone, so is now half way through contract - so I'd guess the value is a lot less than it was a year ago. However, my renewal notice came through today, and they now want £74.99. That's a 25% increase for a phone that is probably half the value it was when I insured it last year (I'm due a new one in a year if I want) - I'd have expected a *reduction*, not a huge hike! I've never yet made a claim on any mobile phone, so it's not because of that.

DickyMiller

First time poster here after just joining.

My wife, two daughters and myself are fortunate to own year old iPhones which we purchased new last year. As recommended by MSE, we took out Insurance2go for each of them. My eldest daughter needed to claim and the process was relatively smooth and she had a replacement within a week.

The policies are now up for renewal and I've been shopping around. I've found a policy offered by Debenhams Personal Finance (Debenhams Gadget Insurance) which looks even better than Insurance2go for our situation. We can cover all four iPhones PLUS my daughters' Macbook and Laptops along with one other item. This would cost £247pa if paid as a lump sum which works out at £62 per phone, ignoring the other 3 items that can be covered too! This is cheaper that Insurance2go and being Debenhams I would be confident of being with a reputable company. I've also searched the fora and there's no mention of them which I'm taking as a positive thing as it's only usually problems that people post about!

Has anyone any experience of using Debenhams Gadget Cover?

Thanks in advance

Richard

rs65

DickyMiller wrote: »

and being Debenhams I would be confident of being with a reputable company

Debenhams are just an introducer - they put their name on it.

Debenhams Retail Plc is an Introducer Appointed Representative of Taurus Insurance Services Limited. Debenhams Gadget Insurance is arranged and administered by Taurus Insurance Services Limited, an insurance intermediary licenced and authorised in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission under Licence Number FSC00757B and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK under registration number 444830. The insurance is underwritten by AmTrust Europe Limited, whose registered office is at Market Square House, St James’s Street, Nottingham, NG1 6FG, is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Financial services register number 202189

Poppy9

Poppy9 wrote: »

www.cover4students.com

For Students - £87 but it includes lost/stolen/damaged anywhere in Uk, £2000 personal possessions and specified laptop, ipad etc. As I paid £56 last year with protect my bubble for her Iphone this one policy from cover4students is most cost effective. Plus the excess is £10

DD had to claim for accidental damage to her mobile. She had to pa £10 excess and it took a month but they replaced phone as it was viable to repair.

kah22

I've just bought myself a new sim free iPhone 6s from Carphone Warehouse. I thought it a good deal 128gb for the price of 16gb costing £529. Currently I'm with Vodafone on a rolling monthly contract. My old monthly contract expired 4 months back. I've been with Vodafone now for many years.

In their article on mobile phone insurance Tony and Dan suggest that it may be worth while haggling with your provider to see if you can get it any cheaper; currently Vodafone charge £144.

I'll have a go at haggling with Vodafone; what's my best tactic and what sort of a deal can I realistically expect. I would consider signing up for a contract.

Kevin

jimmy13

After reading many comments about mobile insurance policies online I decided the best option for me was to take out a home contents insurance policy which includes loss or damage away from the home. I read this in an article online which concerned me:

The Observer scrutinised the small print of two policies, from Phones4U at £7.99 a month, and from Insurance4mobiles.co.uk at £2.49 a month.

Both claim to include water damage, loss, theft, fraudulent calls and international cover. But both policies have small-print clauses stating that cover for loss or damage will not be valid unless the company considers reasonable care has been taken, and that theft or loss will not be covered where the phone has been left 'negligently' in a public place.

After researching a few company's I went for a John Lewis home contents policy 20% discount if you apply online and a free Nest Protect home smoke alarm valued at £89.

The policy I took includes £50.000 home contents cover and I added Personal Possessions outside of the home, it covers items up to £1000 and includes mobile phones for loss or damage anywhere in the world. The only down side there is a £100 excess for each claim.

I telephoned them after getting the quotation online and asked them if there was any clauses relating to mobile phone claims being made in the policy and they said there was none even if I was in a cafe and accidentally left it on the table while I was there it would still be covered and could claim for a new replacement which could take up to a week to come through.

The policy cost me £72.40 for the year which I am happy with.

Hope this information can help some people to work out which is the best option for them.

nhambrown

In dispute with Gadget Cover for a phone I bought new from Motorola in September 2016. My phone developed a fault which I sent back to Motorola. Motorola said that the fault was due to damage and if I wanted it repaired it would cost £87 which I paid them to do because I wanted to maintain my manufacturer warranty. Gadget Cover stated that my claim for repair was invalid because their terms stated that it must be repaired by a Gadget Cover authorized repair shop which would have voided my manufacture warranty for any future claims against Motorola.

This seems to be a Catch 22 and I have put in a complaint to Gadget Cover. I wounder if other insurance companies have the same terms ?

regards

nhambrown

Not happy with Gadget Cover. Bought a new Motorola phone in September 2016. It developed a fault (head phone socket and screen burn). Sent it to Motorola and they said because of a small crack in the glass they refused to do anything unless I paid £87. If I did not pay and got someone else to do it I would lose the Motorola warranty. Gadget Cover refused to pay because only Gadget Cover people can carry out repairs

This seems like a Catch 22 and I am out of pocket for the £87 repair bill and £36 insurance cost.

Maybe I have to go after Motorola for a spurious claim that cosmetic damage would cause the phones fault ?

ArthurD

My iPhone has been stolen recently (on Oxfrod str, London, by a bustard on a bicycle), so I have bought a new one. I now am looking for no nonsense theft insurance. It should cover any type of theft (including theft without violence or its threat and no matter where it takes place (i.e. should not exclude public transport or something else)). It should also include thefts abroad. The cheaper the better. I would be grateful for recommendations.

sabsharpe

I've just contacted my Home Insurance provider (Legal & General) and although they are likely to cover your phone without any of the crazy exclusions for what kind of theft it was there are other problems.

1) The excess is usually higher (say £100)
2) You will loose years no claims bonus
3) You'll need to mention the claim for the next 5 years with most insurers
4) Some insurers won't even take you on if you've claimed

House insurance seems to be there for "If something REALLY bad happens that costs £1,000s or £10,000s" and not for claims under £1k which you'll probably end up paying back in increased policies over the next 5 years.

Really ISN'T easy to find anyone with decent cover for damage/theft/loss