Insurance on a phone

hanandhen

Hi
I got a phone contract for my son on Nov of last yr purchased insurance as well, so fast forward to Aug and he gets it wet so I need to claim on the insurance

Well it turns out that they did not put the insurance through so I sent the paper work to them which says I purchased insurance so they said ok there mistake and that they had not charged me for it, which is true to be honest I didn't realise as I have 4 phone contracts that come out of my acc all different amounts and I didn't realise I wasn't paying for the insurance
Anyway they have said if I pay the back dated insurance which is £65 and the £60 eccess they will send me a new handset now I don't have a Problem with paying the back payment or the excess
But they have said the new phone will not be insured and I can't take insurance out on it now surly they can't do this as I clearly took the contract out with insurance
The other option they have given me is early upgrade heavily discounted so I pay them £160 and they will give me a new hand set with insurance
They have said that these are my only 2 options and there is nothing else I can do is this right ?
The company in question is three mobile who we have been customers with for the past 10 years

simonbk

Personally, I've never considered mobile phone insurance value for money. By the time you pay the excess you could have bought a similar second-hand model as a replacement and saved yourself a lot of money. There are several companies selling second-hand with a years warranty so if it fails you're covered. I manage to avoid "accidental damage" by making sure all my kids phones are in a decent case.

Presumably the early upgrade they're offering you will be a water-proof model like all modern Apple, Samsung, Sony, HTC, etc. so if your son must have the latest model it shouldn't fail if it gets wet.

So you do have at least 3 options:
1. Pay £125 and get a "like-for-like" replacement (last years model)
2. Pay £160 for this years latest and greatest (water resistant)
3. Pay around £100 for a similar used handset with a years warranty

You don't say whether it was Android or iOS but there are plenty of good deals around on older models that are still compatible with the latest operating systems.

davetrousers

Nationwide Flexplus account

simonbk

The Nationwide FlexPlus account costs £13 a month. Excess on lost or stolen phones is £100 (Apple) or £50 (Android). Damage excess is £50 (Apple) or £25 (Android). Considering the latest Androids cost as much as an iPhone, it does seem a bit unfair to charge Apple users double the excess!

Bigphil1474

OP, maybe look for a specialist phone insurer and do all 4 accounts in one - may work out cheaper. I've never bothered myself, but then I only use cheap phones. Could you get a nasty cheap handset for your son for 2 months until you can upgrade. Might teach him to be more careful.

flashg67

simonbk wrote: »

The Nationwide FlexPlus account costs £13 a month. Excess on lost or stolen phones is £100 (Apple) or £50 (Android). Damage excess is £50 (Apple) or £25 (Android). Considering the latest Androids cost as much as an iPhone, it does seem a bit unfair to charge Apple users double the excess!

Me - 'responsible' adult (who pays for the account) - High end Android phone - never claimed
Clumsy stepdaughters both with iphones - multiple claims between them - maybe there's a risk profile somewhere there...;)

Korkyb

Another vote for Nationwides Flexplus Account.


Up to 4 phones in family covered and up to 4 claims per year.


It includes worldwide cover against loss, theft, damage and breakdown (including faults).


I have to admit to having made 2 claims in the last 6 months (funny enough I have 2 x iPhone owning teenage daughters..... you do the maths).


Both claims handled with little fuss and very quickly (replacement phones delivered within 4 or 5 days of initiating claim & my sending broken phones).


I wasn't bothered that the iPhone excess was more than an Android - I made both girls pay that from their own money. :-)


Like Flashg67 I've always had relatively high end android phones and have never broken one..... yet...