Phone Insurance

AdMMM

I had my (uninsured) iPhone stolen on me last week. I now have a replacement through an upgrade and was looking at getting it insured.

First I'll just go through the circumstances of how it was taken. I was on the bus, left my phone down beside me while packing things into the overhead shelves before getting off and I turned around and it was gone. I thought I might have put it into my pocket so just got off the bus. I jumped back on 10 seconds later when I realised but it wasn't there so it must have been someone who had to walk past me while getting off at the same stop.

GadgetInsurance.ie are advertising quite a lot so I've been checking up on them. They seem to offer "loss" insurance which says:

GadgetInsurance.ie wrote:

Loss means where the Covered product has been accidentally left by you in a location and you are permanently deprived of its use.

That sound's good as it would cover me for both loss and theft but I then look at the details of their policy and see:

“Unattended” means when you do not have full view of your
property or where you are not in a position to prevent the
unauthorised taking of your property, unless it is left in a locked
room or a locked safety deposit facility.

and

This policy does not cover you for .... Unattended Loss From any public place or place to which the public has access at the time of the incident.

I believe the phone was stolen but if the same thing were to happen again, would an insurance company say this was lost or stolen?

Also, the policy also states that you're not covered unless the theft is accompanied by a violent/forcible entry/exit. Does this mean that you have to confront the person who has taken your phone to create a violent situation instead of calling the Gardai to report it or use tracking apps to try locate it afterwards?

McSween

get the phone blacklisted or whatever else to prevent it being used again

AdMMM

Oh that's already been done. Phone blacklisted and have my new phone in operation now. I even managed to track it to a house using Find my Phone but the Gardai would do nothing except say that I can claim off insurance... which obviously I couldn't because I didn't have any!

tigershould

phone insurance waste of time imo.

as with all insurance companies they do what they can NOT to pay out.

my phone was stolen from jacket pocket in pub - not covered (this sounds like your 'unattended' scenario as i had the jacket on the back of a chair so i wasnt watching it)

friend of mine's stolen from bag in gym changing room - not covered as above

friend of mine left phone in taxi - not covered (think they call it neglect)


there may be particular policies out there that cover ALL eventualities but i wouldnt bother wasting my time myself.

just be more careful (not being smart) genuinely sorry you 'lost' your phone as ive been there myself (with insurance)

AdMMM

That's what I'm worried about all right. Something happening to my phone and then have the insurance company turn around and tell me that I'm not actually covered. I'd only purchase insurance for the piece of mind but don't want to have to go through hoops to be able to claim!

subway

I've never bothered with phone insurance for all of these reasons. The payout scenarios are very limited unless you are willing to commit fraud.

decies

When I signed up with three I cancelled the insurance after the free period was up . Get a good marware cover for it and just be as Carefull with it as you can.

cookie1977

Stick the cost of the insurance into your bank account and save it every month. Then use it towards an upgrade. Unless you're really bad with phone and loosing them I don't think insurance is worth it at all.

Beans_On

but whats stopping you saying you "lost" your phone to your insurance company, in the first instance.

Kenno90

I hate the current idea of insurance, they'll happily take the money of you and when you need it they find some loophole to get out of giving you money.

Do what other people said here and put the insurance fee into the credit union or something , then take it out when you need it

subway

Some of us don't like commiting fraud I guess....

Kenno90

subway wrote: »

Some of us don't like commiting fraud I guess....

I think insurance in general is fraud, you could give them all the evidence under the sun and they still say its not enough.

subway

i was replying to beans on.

Kopkid99

Any of ye guys damage your phone. I made bits of the screen and had no insurance. I got insurance when I broke the screen.
Can I claim on the insurance for the broken phone even though its out of action for a few weeks.
Im using an older phone. Replys appreciated....

cookie1977

Kopkid99 wrote: »

Any of ye guys damage your phone. I made bits of the screen and had no insurance. I got insurance when I broke the screen.
Can I claim on the insurance for the broken phone even though its out of action for a few weeks.
Im using an older phone. Replys appreciated....

If you bought insurance after you broke the phone then no. If you had insurance when you broke the phone but it's been a while since you broke it then you probably aren't covered as normally you must contact them immediately after it's happend (that's if you tell them it happened a while ago). Check your insurance policy.

naasrd

subway wrote: »

I've never bothered with phone insurance for all of these reasons. The payout scenarios are very limited unless you are willing to commit fraud.

I never insure. If I lose/break my iphone that's my tough luck and I have to take it on the chin. I can't for the life of me understand the mindset of a man who insures his iPhone. What a state of fear to live.