Is phone insurance worth it?

Sick of cracking your phone screen? Unlucky around water with your phone? Maybe you just got a new expensive phone and you want to keep it as safe as possible. You might have considered mobile insurance while you were buying waterproof covers and screen protectors. If you have gone without insuring your phone for a long time, you might be wondering do you even need insurance. Read on to weigh up the benefits for you and whether mobile insurance is worth it.

What does mobile insurance cover?

In the UK, most standard insurance plans cover theft, loss and accidental damage. It depends on every insurer on the extent of your plan or up to how much you can claim back. There is also many plans that will provide emergency replacement phones.

Keep in mind, some policies don’t cover:

• Theft - If there are no signs of forced entry or you’ve left your phone unattended. You must report your phone as stolen to the police within 24 hours too
• Water damage
• Phones that are over a year old
• Older SIM cards
• Deliberate damage, or damage that's only cosmetic or minor (e.g tiny scratches)

What is the best mobile insurance plan for me?

Have a look at the table below for some of the most popular plans.

Even if your phone gets damaged or stolen, your phone supplier will still expect you to pay the remainder of your contract.

Phone insurance can help pay for the cost of a replacement device, so you're not left paying for a phone and having to pay for a new one at the same time.

You should consider phone insurance if:

• Your phone is at risk of theft
• You have a history of broken phones
• You've taken out a new contract for an expensive phone
• You'd need an instant replacement phone

How do I make a claim?

Most gadget insurance policies require you to report your gadget as lost or stolen within 24 hours of you discovering the incident. For some insurers you have as little as 12 hours to do so. It’s best to check with your gadget insurance provider.

Following this, you will need to notify your network provider within 24 hours of the incident so that they can block your device and SIM card– in order to review the claim, they need this police report or evidence of a report.

Report the loss/theft to the establishment where the incident occurred, as it may have been handed in to lost property– we will need these details and all other actions you have taken to try and be reunited with your device.

You must be able to provide proof of usage from your network that confirms your device has been in use since the policy started and up to the event giving rise to your claim.

Is there a claims limit?

Depending on your insurer, you may have limited claims within each contract year. You should always check your policy schedule to see if claim limits, policy excess and any exclusions apply to you and your device.

All in all, mobile phone insurance is useful for many people. If you really like to take care of your phone and you want to keep it safe, investing in a standard insurance plan might be a good idea. Make sure you research and read the fine print of your selected plan, so that you know exactly what to do when you need to use your insurance.