Best option on insuring your iPhone 4!?

[iMoo]

Will you be insuring your iPhone 4?


I know that some can just put this on their hosehold insurance, but for the ones that either live at home or don't have this; what other methods are they and will you be using them?

Currently i'm with O2 and was told i would be able to carry on paying £6 a month and just tell them when i got my iPhone 4 and they would transfer it over. Now i'm hearing off some that they are being told that the iPhone 4 is different to the iPhone 3G and that they will have to pay £15 a month with O2. If my phone had only been around £150 it wouldn't have been a worry but £599 make me wonder if i should really insure my new shiny gadget!?

So is there any companies out there that offer a cheaper insurance or allternative and what are your thoughts on the best options as £15 a month seems a bit steep to me,

Thanks,
iMoo

(This was touched upon by myself in the iPhone 4 UK thread, but as that is over 10k posts, topics can get lost amongst other conversations so thought that i would start an easier to follow thread here.)

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I can't believe people paying £15 a month for phone insurance. That's £180 a year, more than my fiancée pays for moped insurance for the two of us!

If you have home contents insurance then check your policies because most will offer a fair amount of coverage on items you take out of the house. Failing that, have a look at your bank's Premier customer service, the one where you pay a monthly fee. For example, Barclays Premiere Life costs either £17.50 or £25 per month depending on your profile but with that you get mobile phone and gadget insurance (i.e. TomToms, iPads and iPods etc), family travel insurance, home boiler protection, extended warranties on purchases, roadside breakdown recovery etc.

I'd guess that 90% of people who take out the £15 a month phone insurance will already have their phones covered under home insurance or something like the premier banking thing I mentioned above.

 

[iMoo]

I can't believe people paying £15 a month for phone insurance. That's £180 a year, more than my fiancée pays for moped insurance for the two of us!

If you have home contents insurance then check your policies because most will offer a fair amount of coverage on items you take out of the house. Failing that, have a look at your bank's Premier customer service, the one where you pay a monthly fee. For example, Barclays Premiere Life costs either £17.50 or £25 per month depending on your profile but with that you get mobile phone and gadget insurance (i.e. TomToms, iPads and iPods etc), family travel insurance, home boiler protection, extended warranties on purchases, roadside breakdown recovery etc.

I'd guess that 90% of people who take out the £15 a month phone insurance will already have their phones covered under home insurance or something like the premier banking thing I mentioned above.

Thanks for starting with your contribution matey, as this is a big concern for some...obv me too as the reason for me starting the thread.
Will contact Santandar (my bank) and see if they offer anything like this. Before it merged from Abbey National though, they never did.

Unfortunatly with living at home i don't have house insurance so need to consider an alternative to this. googling brings up some sites but obviously some (if not most) of these will take your money and then when things go wrong prob won't pay out. I never had to make a claim in all years i have had phones but the peace of mind is nice to have.
Wonder if their is any genuine ones on the web that have been known to pay out in case phones are lost!?

 

[ScubaCinci]

Squaretrade - although i don't know if they offer protection for our international friends.

 

[179202]

I'm upgrading my Lloyds TSB Current Account to a Silver Current Account. It's £7.50 a month, but £3 a month for first 3 months, and includes mobile phone insurance.

 

[iMoo]

Squaretrade - although i don't know if they offer protection for our international friends.

I heard of square trade before, they got something to do with eBay or Paypal disputes!?
That looks real good. I'm guessing same for iPhones in UK too that going with the dealers (as in with cars and most things) is normally the most expensive option. However i haven't really heard of any reputable companies in the UK that are good to use. Maybe because i been paying £6 a month with O2 it didn't matter but now if they charge £15 a month, it's definatly time to start looking, though just got a few days to find somewhere!

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Thanks for starting with your contribution matey, as this is a big concern for some...obv me too as the reason for me starting the thread.
Will contact Santandar (my bank) and see if they offer anything like this. Before it merged from Abbey National though, they never did.

Unfortunatly with living at home i don't have house insurance so need to consider an alternative to this. googling brings up some sites but obviously some (if not most) of these will take your money and then when things go wrong prob won't pay out. I never had to make a claim in all years i have had phones but the peace of mind is nice to have.
Wonder if their is any genuine ones on the web that have been known to pay out in case phones are lost!?

Santander Premium Bank Account - £20 per month.

I'd add though that I think most (probably all) of these premier banking insurance packages are only valid for claims after 60 days so you have to be careful at the beginning. You also have to make sure to register the IMEI number with them otherwise they won't cough up. This is also true if you ever upgrade your phone or you have your phone replaced under Applecare.

 

[BeyondtheTech]

Give it to me. I'll keep it safe.

 

[iMoo]

Give it to me. I'll keep it safe.

ok matey, can you save my PS3 and 360 whilst i'm on holiday too, just PM me your address and i'll send them out, doesn't matter if it's a PO BOX they are easier to write on the envolope

 

[iMoo]

Santander Premium Bank Account - £20 per month.

I'd add though that I think most (probably all) of these premier banking insurance packages are only valid for claims after 60 days so you have to be careful at the beginning. You also have to make sure to register the IMEI number with them otherwise they won't cough up. This is also true if you ever upgrade your phone or you have your phone replaced under Applecare.

Yeah thanks for that mate, just had a browse through now. Though after one year i then only get 1.0%APR on my acount only upto £2500 maximum too, so no intrest (not that i get any anyhow, should really look into this bit)

Though it would cost £240 for the year there is some good benifits, though think only the phone insurance and holiday insurance and car breakdown i would use. It does look more like you benifit more if your a famlly rather than single person as my girlfriend prob isn't classed as family.

Looking at small print to check the phone insurances address, then cross referencing that address with the business name, brings up that Santander use:- http://www.cpp.co.uk/phonesafe/ anyone heard of these? i'm guessing dealing direct would mean it must be a good company, unless of course it's better getting backing from bank?

Either way, unless it blinds the fact that it's altering some major T&C's i currently get with my bank, especially the rubbish interest rate, maybe for an extra £5 a month the benifits are better going with bank rather than O2.
Good find mate....pause for thought

 

[iMoo]

Just read T&C's for Phonesafe although my bank states cover for phone up to cost of £800. The actual Phonesafe site says:-
D) The insurance: what is not covered
1. Any phone with a replacement cost of more than £400.

Well there goes that idea was £6.99 a month with excess of £50 but not allowed to have phone that costs more than £400, not so good as first thought now................the search goes on.............

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Yeah thanks for that mate, just had a browse through now. Though after one year i then only get 1.0%APR on my acount only upto £2500 maximum too, so no intrest (not that i get any anyhow, should really look into this bit)

Though it would cost £240 for the year there is some good benifits, though think only the phone insurance and holiday insurance and car breakdown i would use. It does look more like you benifit more if your a famlly rather than single person as my girlfriend prob isn't classed as family.

Looking at small print to check the phone insurances address, then cross referencing that address with the business name, brings up that Santander use:- http://www.cpp.co.uk/phonesafe/ anyone heard of these? i'm guessing dealing direct would mean it must be a good company, unless of course it's better getting backing from bank?

Either way, unless it blinds the fact that it's altering some major T&C's i currently get with my bank, especially the rubbish interest rate, maybe for an extra £5 a month the benifits are better going with bank rather than O2.
Good find mate....pause for thought

I wouldn't worry about the interest really. No bank is going to give anything close to a good interest rate on your current account. If you're worried about interest then speak to your bank about opening a savings account to put your money in to. An easy, no penalties access account (those that give the lowest rates) will probably give better rates than any current account.

TBH, I took it out initially because we needed travel insurance when going away. It worked out cheaper over a year to get the premier banking account that includes multi-holiday travel insurance than it would have cost us to get the same travel insurance alone. The other benefits just sweetened the deal.

You're right that your girlfriend won't be included, well unless she lives with you in which case I believe she will.

I may have sounded a bit earlier that there are negative points in terms of the no claims time on new, replaced or upgraded phones but my experience with mobile phone insurance companies is even worse. The one time I took out phone insurance my phone got stolen nine months in. Despite not being at fault and having a police crime reference number, the insurers still refused to pay out because I had not been paying enough care and attention. In retrospect I should have lied and said I'd dropped it down a drain.

 

[Sanveann]

I didn't buy insurance ... it seemed like all the available options were just too expensive. When I accidentally put my 3GS through the washer (long story!), I just went to the Apple store and they gave me a new phone for $199. (The 3GS had just come out, so they said that while it was POSSIBLY a refurb, it was mostly likely just a brand-new phone.) Honestly, most insurance would cost more than that, unless you had zero deductible and planned on killing several iPhones before you got a new one.

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

I didn't buy insurance ... it seemed like all the available options were just too expensive. When I accidentally put my 3GS through the washer (long story!), I just went to the Apple store and they gave me a new phone for $199. (The 3GS had just come out, so they said that while it was POSSIBLY a refurb, it was mostly likely just a brand-new phone.) Honestly, most insurance would cost more than that, unless you had zero deductible and planned on killing several iPhones before you got a new one.

Very good point. Apple will replace damaged phones for a fee that's far less than the new purchase price. Of course you're still not covered for thefts but it's halfway there. The out of warranty repair service is £145.29 at the moment in the UK.

 

[iMoo]

Yeah up to now i have managed to drop my 3G once when i fell asleep on the toilet...lol i know...but was ok luckily.
Also up to now (touch wood) i have never actually lost a mobile phone yet.
I am guessing though that even though the iPhone 4 is supposed to be toughened glass i reckon a waist high drop is a 50/50 chance that the front or back with them being glass will prob shatter or break.

Though if it is only £145, even if i was clumsy enough to do this once a year would still be £35 in pocket each year over O2's crazy insurance plan.

I can see that with the amount of people that fraudulently claim for phones this pushes up insurance costs, but i don't think this is possible with iphones as they can be tracked and remote wiped and also register to iTunes...unless people jailbreak them and can hide them this way.

Just wish they hadn't cost as much money and it wouldn't have been so bad. Thanks for your input though mate, given me a few more things to look at.

p.s.
From O2 forums:-
"They will put the insurance up to £15 a month. Head office told me that I was not covered on my 3GS under the 7.50 insurance and refunded it back to me. I now pay fifteen a month."

I been carrying on from my w800i paying £6 a month for my 3G over last 20 months. Does this mean that if i had claimed to have lost my iPhone they would say that i wasn't paying the iPhone correct insurance? If so does that mean if they made mistake as to never insure me then they owe me 20x£6 = £120?

In theory maybe, but doubt they prob would, even though if i lose my phone iv'e now paid for nothing, grrrrr

 

[gd2]

CPP handle T-Mobile phonesafe and also Natwest

If you have a Natwest advantage Blue account, £6.95 a month, it covers one mobile up to the value of £750,

Natwest Advantage Gold £12.50 a month covers 2 if you have a joint account

Natwest Private £19.50 a month (Must earn over £70,000)covers 4 iphones!!!!

All these have lots of other benefits and there is only a 10 day period before coverage starts.

 

[nazuk]

I have saved hundreds of pounds, literally...

...by NOT buying any warranties of any kind whatsoever on anything.

Why not just put a lump sum away into an ISA (interest free), or if the temptation is there to touch it, then a FIXED TERM bond of some sort?

I have saved so much money by not buying any warranty, and just paying for the odd breakdown.

Put it this way, I never lose phones, ever! They never get damaged, ever!

Just on that, I have saved hundreds, and if something does get lost or breaks, I am prepared to pay for it, because it's just so much cheaper than buying god damn warranties for everything, or nearly everything.

PS: I used to work for PC World, those hundreds of pounds of warranties cost them literally a few quid. In Natwest Bank, the extra gold account costs them peanuts, but they rake in shed loads of money (approx £150 per year from each account holder).

I used to work in Insurance, selling £20 legal protection that cost the company less than a Pound.

MOST people never even claim on these things, ever!!

Let the debate begin

 

[lorenwade]

...by NOT buying any warranties of any kind whatsoever on anything.

Why not just put a lump sum away into an ISA (interest free), or if the temptation is there to touch it, then a FIXED TERM bond of some sort?

I have saved so much money by not buying any warranty, and just paying for the odd breakdown.

Put it this way, I never lose phones, ever! They never get damaged, ever!

Just on that, I have saved hundreds, and if something does get lost or breaks, I am prepared to pay for it, because it's just so much cheaper than buying god damn warranties for everything, or nearly everything.

PS: I used to work for PC World, those hundreds of pounds of warranties cost them literally a few quid. In Natwest Bank, the extra gold account costs them peanuts, but they rake in shed loads of money (approx £150 per year from each account holder).

I used to work in Insurance, selling £20 legal protection that cost the company less than a Pound.

MOST people never even claim on these things, ever!!

Let the debate begin

OR, you can go to your insurance agent and insure your phone for less than $20 a year just in case that "minor fix" costs over the $50 deductible.

 

[john_satc]

As much as £15 is a lot to pay a month for insurance, I'm going to stick with it. Last year alone I put in three insurance claims for my iPhone, each time I had a brand new iPhone on my doorstep the next day. It may cost a bit, but definitely worth it knowing they will always pay out.

 

[AndyDel]

Barclays do very good insurance, i pay £5 a month for my bank account and it comes with mobile insurance.. But that also extends to stuff like laptops aswell.

It's good because they cover everything, including water damage.

 

[nazuk]

Barclays do very good insurance, i pay £5 a month for my bank account and it comes with mobile insurance.. But that also extends to stuff like laptops aswell.

It's good because they cover everything, including water damage.

For £5, I would check the limits - I suspect they don't cover a £500 iPhone!

 

[iMoo]

...by NOT buying any warranties of any kind whatsoever on anything.

Why not just put a lump sum away into an ISA (interest free), or if the temptation is there to touch it, then a FIXED TERM bond of some sort?

I have saved so much money by not buying any warranty, and just paying for the odd breakdown.

Put it this way, I never lose phones, ever! They never get damaged, ever!

Just on that, I have saved hundreds, and if something does get lost or breaks, I am prepared to pay for it, because it's just so much cheaper than buying god damn warranties for everything, or nearly everything.

PS: I used to work for PC World, those hundreds of pounds of warranties cost them literally a few quid. In Natwest Bank, the extra gold account costs them peanuts, but they rake in shed loads of money (approx £150 per year from each account holder).

I used to work in Insurance, selling £20 legal protection that cost the company less than a Pound.

MOST people never even claim on these things, ever!!

Let the debate begin

I suoppose you do have a point, i been paying £6 a month now for prob last 5 years so £360 for nothing claimed. But now these phones are sooo expensive, just makes you think bit more.
I've never claimed and know that they are probably high due to the amount of fraudulent claims. But now with the iPhones, surely it is much harder for people to just sell them on eBay and then claim another as they are now trackable the high end phones.

With my bank to cover phone insurance you need the top package of £20 a month and most of stuff on their i probably wouldn't use...maybe green flag and holiday insurance for myself but then that is paying another £5 a month so £60 on top of O2.

I'm maybe thinking being carefull but then it would just be my look i lose it (touch wood)

 

[nazuk]

I suoppose you do have a point, i been paying £6 a month now for prob last 5 years so £360 for nothing claimed. But now these phones are sooo expensive, just makes you think bit more.
I've never claimed and know that they are probably high due to the amount of fraudulent claims. But now with the iPhones, surely it is much harder for people to just sell them on eBay and then claim another as they are now trackable the high end phones.

With my bank to cover phone insurance you need the top package of £20 a month and most of stuff on their i probably wouldn't use...maybe green flag and holiday insurance for myself but then that is paying another £5 a month so £60 on top of O2.

I'm maybe thinking being carefull but then it would just be my look i lose it (touch wood)

The point about stuff you wouldn't use, yet you would carry on....(i'm making a point here, so not referring to you specifically)....

When I was selling the Advantage Gold package, which is a Natwest Current Account with added 'benefits' - I used to deal with over 100 phonecalls a day - just about that 1 product, because that was my job at that time.

Out of the 100 calls about that 1 product, 99% of people were wanting to cancel the product, but after 11 or 12 months of paying for it, and realising they did not want it. Who wins? The Bank of course.

So they paid £144 each, for a whole year before they realised it wasn't for them.

Sometimes, may be just sometimes, they got 1% off on their Currency when they went on holiday, or perhaps they used the breakdown once, but that was it - they didn't use the 'benefits' at all.

I too realised my mother was paying for Boiler (water heater thingy) service/insurance at £400 per annum, she did this for 3 years, before I persuaded her that she could have bought a new boiler for that, possibly.

Insurance Companies, play on people's fear, it's all about fear - yes the odd 'peace of mind' - and yes the odd claim where you would have saved alot of money.

But my theory is, just add up all the warranties you would 'like' - a rough guesstimate of £100 per month, just put that away in some account that you have to give 30 days notice or 90 days notice, even if it's poor interest.

You've then made your own rainy day fund, without giving your money away to some greedy bankers and investors and insurance companies.

Just my thoughts, that's all.

 

[PG-Monkey]

For £5, I would check the limits - I suspect they don't cover a £500 iPhone!

It does cover iPhones. At least the 3G/3GS - My mate got his phone water damaged (His missus dropped it down the bog) and he got paid £435 for it.

 

[Vertigo50]

I know this is more about insurance than AppleCare, but for anyone considering AppleCare, you can get it for about half price on Amazon or Ebay. I know it doesn't cover everything, but for that price, it's worth it to be able to get a new phone for many issues.