How comprehensive is your mobile phone insurance?
Defaqto's new Star Ratings for mobile phone insurance help people identify the level of features and benefits different products offer.
Mobile phones have become far more advanced and significantly more expensive in the last few years. As a result, it has never been more important for people who want to insure their phone to have the right level and type of cover for their handset, as well as associated risks from their phone being lost or stolen.
However, there is a large amount of variation between mobile phone insurance policies in terms of the features and cover they provide.
According to independent financial research company Defaqto:
Although 99% of mobile phone insurance policies cover theft of normal handsets and smartphones, only 74% will cover the theft of iPhones#
In addition, 60% of policies will cover loss of a smartphone while only 43% will cover the loss of an iPhone
74% of mobile phone insurance policies that cover contract phones insure against the cost of unauthorised calls, following loss or theft of a handset for example - where this is provided for, the average amount of cover is £1,528
63% of Pay-As-You-Go phone insurance policies cover unauthorised call costs, with the average amount of cover being £290
Although price is likely to play a role in which policy someone chooses, focusing on price alone can risk a mis-match between what someone needs from their mobile phone insurance and the cover it actually provides.
Defaqto has today launched new Star Ratings for mobile phone insurance to help people understand the overall level of features and benefits that different policies offer.
Taking a wide range of features and benefits into account, Defaqto has given each policy a rating from 1 to 5 depending on how comprehensive they are. The ratings cover 88 mobile phone insurance products, including those provided by mobile phone companies, standalone insurers and added value bank accounts.
Star Ratings aim to help people identify the right level of product for them, whether this happens to be a 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 Star Rated product. After all, it makes little sense for someone to pay for a product with all the bells and whistles when all they have is a basic handset or a Pay-As-You-Go contract. And, vice versa, people risk not having the right type of cover for their needs if they cut corners but have a top of the range phone for example.
Brian Brown, Defaqto's Head of Research, said: "It is essential that people match the features and benefits they require from a mobile phone insurance product with those provided by the policy they choose. If consumers focus on price alone they can run the risk of under-insuring their mobile phone.
"Our Star Ratings help people gain a better understanding of what they're buying by providing an independent rating of the overall level of features and benefits offered by the different mobile phone insurance policies on the market. The key is for people to look for the right level of product for their particular circumstances."
Consumers can visit defaqto.com/star-ratings/mobile-phone-insurance to access the ratings.
Importantly, people may already have an option for mobile phone insurance through their added value current account (packaged account). As well as rating the mobile phone insurance element of these accounts individually, Defaqto also publishes overall Star Ratings for added value current accounts.