Mobile phone insurance cover - Key Cover points

Key factors that you want your mobile phone insurance company to cover for.

There are loads of mobile phone insurance companies that grab your attention with low costs … then you later find out that they cover you for so little it is almost not worth the paper it is written on. A typical example of this is Loss cover – most companies do not cover for loss despite the fact this is one of the top 2 reasons for needing insurance in the first place!

In the high street shop we used to run (we are now 100% on the internet), we used to offer customers a certain insurance company’s policy (they begin with a C and a U …). We would offer this as a 3 months free deal to go with their new phone. The customer then started paying from month 4 onwards. Months later, we would get our customers coming back to use, really angry, saying that they had been paying the insurance for X months, and that when they eventually lost their mobile phone and tried to make a claim, they were refused the insurance claim … because they were not covered for Loss!

As an aside to this ‘loss’ cover, it has been a documented case that many people were committing insurance fraud. Knowing that they were not covered for loss, when they did lose their phone, they went to the police and said their phone had been stolen or they had been mugged. This wastes police time, and the Metropolitan Police recently said they were clamping down on such insurance crime fraud, and looking closely at every reported phone theft.

So it is vital that you make sure you get the protection you need from your mobile insurance.

The key elements to consider when you are looking at mobile phone insurance are …
* Loss
* Mobile phone theft
* Mobile phone loss
* Fraudulent calls
* International cover
* Extended Warrantee
* Accidental damage

These need looking into in detail so the next articles will each look at the pro’s and con’s of each element you need to consider before you go purchasing your mobile phone insurance.

Mobile Phone Insurance – Why? - Part 2

So it is more arbitrary how you decide to insure your mobile phone, because you have to decide how likely it is that your mobile phone might be lost, stolen or damaged etc. You might decide you are likely to be ‘OK’ for 18 months or 24 months.

Even over a 24 month period, 24 x £7.99 = £191.76 which is still considerably less than the replacement cost, so again the insurance is worth considering.

2. To get your phone replaced quickly and easily

In the next article, we will look at the replacement time as a consideration in getting your mobile phone insurance

Mobile Phone Insurance UK is a FREE mobile phone insurance review site, so you can quickly and easily find the best mobile phone insurance for you. Their aim is to give you easy-read and in-depth reviews on mobile phone insurance, so you can locate the right insurance company for you to protect your phone , in the way that is right for YOU.
2. To get your phone replaced quickly and easilyImagine being without your mobile phone for days – is this acceptable? If this is OK to you, then great. If your phone is critical to your business or your personal life, you need to look carefully at the turn-around time on a claim with any mobile phone insurance company. Unless they promise a quick turn around time of 24 to 48 hours, then do NOT assume they will be quick – some have waited weeks!
Some phone insurance companies do promise a rapid replacement time. Again, this is something that 2U do promise.

A key part of a rapid replacement is for you to stay on top of the process – call the insurance company daily and ask for an update so they know how important your phone is to you. Some customers are not worried about when they get it, so not all are worried about replacement time. You need to let the mobile phone insurance company know that YOU want rapid replacement. You do this by simply making sure you have their phone number, and calling them daily after making a claim. Also, before you choose a mobile phone insurance company, make sure you can submit your claim form by email, online or by fax, so they get it instantly. This obviously speeds up the process of your insurance claim. In the next article we will look at key points you need to make sure that your mobile phone insurance company covers for.

Continued in the next article ...

Mobile Phone Insurance – Why? - Part 1

Mobile Phone Insurance – Why?
It is important to ascertain why you want insurance. There are 2 principle reasons why you would want to insure your phone …

1. To cover the high cost of replacing your phone
2. To get your phone replaced quickly and easily

1. To cover the high cost of replacing your phone.
Your phone very likely cost far more than you paid for it. Both pay as you go phones and contract phones get heavily subsidised by the network to entice you to use their network and pay them for your calls. BUT when you come to replace your phone the networks will usually NOT discount the phone so you have to pay the full price – often hundreds of pounds.

To find the replacement cost of your phone, the best way to do this is to buy the replacement mobile phone as a pay as you go (which gets slightly discounted by the networks) rather than as a contract mobile phone. Simply search www.google.co.uk for “pay as you go MAKE MODEL” eg “pay as you go nokia n90”

Some insurance companies charge so much per month that it is just not economic sense to pay them, because it will cost you more per year to insure the phone than it costs to replace it. You need to run a simple equation, but this will be different if you are a contract customer rather than a pay as you go mobile phone customer, because contract customers can usually upgrade their phone to a new phone after the 12 month contract period - which means contract customers can get then get a heavily discounted replacement mobile phone.

If you are a contract mobile phone customer, first simply find the replacement mobile phone cost as described above. Take this number and divide by 12 months. If this figure is bigger than the monthly insurance premium then it is a pointer that the insurance is worth while.

For example currently the Nokia N90 on pay as you go is showing as costing £399. £399 divided by 12 months = £33.25 per month. This is a lot more than insurance per month is likely to cost, so the insurance may be a good option.

In this example, the insurer 2U Mobile Phone Insurance would protect this phone under their Executive Policy cover at £7.99

12 months at £7.99 = £95.88. This is considerably less than the £399 replacement cost so the insurance is a good option for this Nokia N90 mobile phone.

If you are already a pay as you go customer, you will not be getting any more discount from the network than the usual pay as you go price (contract customers get much more discount). So your replacement cost would only be as low as the pay as you go cost, no matter when you replace your mobile phone, or how long you wait ...

Continued in the next article ...

Mobile Insurance - Why and How?

Mobile phone insurance can be a bonus or a waste of money. There are a few companies that are very good value for money and do genuinely protect your mobile phone and pay out when you need them - but you have to know who they are.

For legal reasons it is difficult to point the finger at the 'bad' companies that should be avoided, but there are certain companies that you might be wise to know a few more 'negative testimonials' from.

Ther are also some fantastic companies out there that have worked out that insurance does not have to be a rip off, and can actually help people out when they are in need. The best of the bunch is 2U, but this blog is aimed to pick the best from the bad in closer details, and also in short-summary for you if you are pushed for time.

You will find updates here as we give you more and more reports on mobile phone insurance companies and the highs and the lows ...