Mobile Phone Insurance

Mobile phones have become an integral part of our lifestyles. Many of us would never leave home without a phone in our pocket. And most of the time, it’s not simple phones but sophisticated and expensive smartphones that we carry with us everywhere.

Carrying a phone like that means that you’re vulnerable to dangers ranging from theft to loss and damage. High-quality smartphones are usually expensive and to pay for one, you may have agreed to sign a contract - which you’ll need to keep on paying even if you lose or damage your phone.

However, you can protect yourself against such risks by covering your phone with specialist mobile phone insurance.

Benefits can vary from insurer to insurer - that’s why it’s smart to shop around and look through various offers before settling on an insurance company.

Before purchasing a mobile phone insurance contract, make sure to read the Terms & Conditions carefully. That’s how you’ll be able to tell which clauses and exclusions apply to the type of insurance you’ve chosen.

A critical part of your mobile phone insurance is the type of theft it covers. For instance, theft without force or unattended theft may not be covered. If someone steals your phone from your pocket or takes it from a table in a cafe when you’re distracted, you’ll be left uninsured. Moreover, some insurers may refuse to pay out in specific cases - for example, if you forget your phone and leave it by accident on a train or taxi. If you’re deemed to have been careless by the provider, you might not be covered by the insurance. Any sort of water damage might fall under this exclusion too.

Pay attention to the terms stated in your contract. Some insurers require you to report the phone as lost to the police and the insurer within a specific time limit such as 24 hours or less.

The exclusions to this mobile phone insurance include:

Leaving the phone unattended.

• Theft from a vehicle or premises where there is no visible sign of forced entry.
• Lack of proof of purchase or receipt.
• Any claim where the phone has not been used since the insurance has been taken out.

Make sure that the policy you choose has all the cover you need. Check if it provides instant cover, whether there’s a limit on the number of claims per year, and how much the excess is.

When searching for phone cover, consider gadget insurance. Many providers offer that type of insurance and they may cover mobile phones - just make sure to specify your smartphone when describing the gadget in question. You can insure more than one device with the same policy - for example, your laptop, camera, and tablet.

Some types of home insurance include mobile phone coverage as well. While these can be simple and cost-effective, they come with downsides such as lengthy claim processing that could leave you without a mobile phone for a more extended period of time.

With gadget cover your phone will be covered from the moment you finalise the purchase of insurance. You won’t have to wait for the insurance policy to be processed and applied within a specific number of days from your purchase. Instead, you can enjoy coverage right from the moment of purchase.

To make a claim, you need to do the following:

If your claim is for damage, we will ask you to send the gadget to our nominated repair centre where we can inspect and repair it. We aim to repair or replace items within 5 to 7 working days.

If your claim if for the theft or loss of your gadget you must report the theft or loss to the police and your service provider no later than 48 hours after you notice that your gadget is missing.

Next, you need to contact us. Make sure to do that as quickly as possible - within 48 hours from discovering loss or theft of your gadget.

You can call our dedicated Claim Advisors on 0203 794 9294. You can also send us an email to gadgetcoverclaims@directgroup.co.uk. If you take longer than 48 hours to contact us, you risk your claim being delayed or rejected.

We aim to process claims within 48 hours, once we receive all the required documentation - which includes proof of ownership. If we approve the claim, you will need to pay the policy excess to let us proceed with the claim. Make sure that you provide us with all the required documentation and pay the excess as quickly as possible - any delay may make the process longer.

If your claim is for damage, we will ask you to send the gadget to our nominated repair centre where we can inspect and repair it. We aim to repair or replace items within 5 to 7 working days.

For many smartphone users, the most valuable content on their phone, that no insurance company is able to replace, is their contacts, photos, files, and other pieces of personal information.

There are many things you can do right now to make sure that data stored on your phone is protected against loss. Consider the available cloud storage options for creating backups of your data. Storing them in the cloud offers a significant advantage - they will be available to you from any device connected to the internet.

Once you settle on an adequate storage solution, schedule regular backups of your data to make sure that all your files and information are located in your storage.

All in all, the best advice to keep your phone is safe, is to look after and it to protect it against the hassle and cost that comes with loss, theft, or damage.