Broken Mobile - Claim on house insurance?

natalie_1982

I have smashed the screen on my Samsung Galaxy S3. I do not have phone insurace. I have apparoched Vodafone and independant repair shops who have quoted £140-150 to repair it. I have building and contents insurance, I have not yet checked the policy but I have never had to claim anything on insurance before and I don't know if how I even make a claim let alone if I am entitled or if I would be better off doing this. Would it be worth me taking out a phone insurance policy today and then ringing in a couple of days to make a claim? Thanks

grumbler

A public forum on a top-ranked website is definitely the best place for discussing insurance fraud...

Start with reading your contents insurance policy.

natalie_1982

I thought it would work the same way British Gas do - when we had a problem with the boiler they advised taking a maintenance contract out that day (thus being tied in for 12 months) and would cover the cost of repairs/services, etc. I didn't think it would be different for insurance.

natalie_1982

But thanks for being so gracious in your reply, I hope you feel better for making someone feel even worse about a situation they know nothing about when they come to a public forum on a top-ranked website for help. Have a great day. I can do sarcasm too.

MikeWhite

natalie_1982 wrote: »

I thought it would work the same way British Gas do - when we had a problem with the boiler they advised taking a maintenance contract out that day (thus being tied in for 12 months) and would cover the cost of repairs/services, etc. I didn't think it would be different for insurance.

So, do you think car insurance works that way? How about life insurance?
Mike

iritchie

Yeah, bad idea off the bat to think about taking out a policy and then claiming off it in a few days...it would only end in tears.
For a start, if you have no replacement phone, it would be fairly blatantly obvious that you haven't used your handset since before you took the policy out and therefore run the risk of being taken to court for insurance fraud.

As for your home/contents insurance, it depends entirely on your excess.
Generally on a contents policy, an excess amount would exceed the cost you're looking to claim for your phone repair.
In the scale of things, I wouldn't bother claiming a cost as low as this on a policy as significant as my home insurance, but it depends entirely on your policy.

natalie_1982

I don't drive ergo no car insurance. I have ife insurance but have never had to claim on anything ever. I pointed this out in my original post. I think we've made it clear that I don't understand insurance policies - my only experience is with British Gas which is not an insurance policy but the closest experience I have. I came here for advice.
My phone is broken; it will be expensive to repair and I don't know if I would be better making a claim on the B&C insurance or not. If I'm completely honest (now you really will wet yourself, but do enjoy it) I don't know what excess is, if I have to pay £100 excess then wouldn't I just be better paying the £140 and not making a claim? Doesn't this make the premiums go up? Is premium another word for policy? Are we talking it will go up by pounds per year or hundreds?

natalie_1982

iritchie wrote: »

Yeah, bad idea off the bat to think about taking out a policy and then claiming off it in a few days...it would only end in tears.
For a start, if you have no replacement phone, it would be fairly blatantly obvious that you haven't used your handset since before you took the policy out and therefore run the risk of being taken to court for insurance fraud.

As for your home/contents insurance, it depends entirely on your excess.
Generally on a contents policy, an excess amount would exceed the cost you're looking to claim for your phone repair.
In the scale of things, I wouldn't bother claiming a cost as low as this on a policy as significant as my home insurance, but it depends entirely on your policy.

Thank you - that's what I thought I might have to do

McKneff

So your own common sense should tell you it's fraud, now be honest.

Youve commited fraud already with British Gas, now you are asking us to help you to defraud your insurance company.

If found out, you risk being prosecuted, branded a criminal, you will never be able to get insurance for anything ever again. You will have to declare on anything you ever apply for, yes even jobs, that you have a criminal offence for fraud.

Now, ask yourself, would it be worth it.

There was no sarcasm in the reply you got. It was total fact.

natalie_1982

Oh and the handset is working at the moment, but I don't think it will last forever, peices of the screen are dropping out and eventually it will stop working.

Promise I won't take out a mobile policy though Insurance fraud would not make my week any better haha

McKneff

The maintenance contract with British Gas is an insurance policy, it insures you against breakdowns throughout the year you have the policy in place.

The trick is to get the insurance for anything before anything goes wrong, not after. Do that and its fraud, simple common sense.