Worth insuring a phone?

Foebane72

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I have just signed on for a 24-month contract with Orange/EE and gotten a Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini (8Gb), for a price of £11.99 per month with modest requirements.

Previously, I have had a basic Nokia handset (old-fashioned but colour screen) but I wanted to combine my favourite pastime of music listening with being reachable, as up until now I have never taken my phone out of the house in case I lost it, and because I mainly used it as the landline as the house I rent in doesn't have a landline. I paid for the Nokia in full, BTW.

But I'm worried about taking my S3 outside, as there is risk of damage if dropped, rain soaking in, or just plain being nicked. I've been looking over the internet about how you should obviously report theft to EE and the police and let EE know about damage, but if my phone were lost, would I be expected to pay for the full handset? I'm not even sure what it's value is, the prices I've seen vary considerably.

So I'm assuming I should insure the phone, but should I use something like insurance2go, protectyourbubble or even the service that Orange/EE were showing at the checkout? What's the best deal?

And once I do sign up, how am I covered?
 
I would look at how much it would be to buy a replacement phone and then look at the premium you will pay for the insurance. Often I find that a years premium will often cover the cost of a new handset hence I self insure myself (i.e. if my phone broke I would just buy a new one). Most networks will sell you a refurbed one fairly cheap as well as another way to keep costs down. I believe mobile insurance is one of the poorer insurances in terms of payout per premium paid although I could be wrong on that.
I have had a mobile phone for over 15 years and have not had one stolen, lost or broken hence I am well up in terms of money by not buying insurance.
 
But I'm worried about taking my S3 outside, as there is risk of damage if dropped, rain soaking in, or just plain being nicked. I've been looking over the internet about how you should obviously report theft to EE and the police and let EE know about damage, but if my phone were lost, would I be expected to pay for the full handset?
If you lost your phone and had no insurance it would be up to you to supply a replacement phone. The cost of the phone is part of the monthly payments you make so you pay for it whatever happens.
 
If you lost your phone and had no insurance it would be up to you to supply a replacement phone. The cost of the phone is part of the monthly payments you make so you pay for it whatever happens.

Are you saying that at the end of the contract, the phone is essentially mine?

Also, if I lost it, would I be able to get a different model or does it have to be the same one, and would it still be on the Pay Monthly tariff?
 
Watch some of the 'phone drop test' on Youtube - you'd be surprise how much phones can handle a good whack! As for loosing a phone - where's my droid is a free app that you can install, and if needed, track the whereabout of the phone via a pc.

I had phone insurance for over a year and came to the conclusion that it was not worth it. The house insurance covered contents, including away from home.
 
If you lost your phone you could buy any make and model phone to replace it and still keep same monthly payment. Would also need to contact company for new sim card.
 
Can't you add it to house insurance?

My 5S is covered everywhere for everything including accidental damage and didn't add anything extra to my premium.
 
If you have contents insurance with accidental damage and personal effects (all risks) cover, then your phone will already be covered for loss or damage.

Specialist phone insurance is a waste of money unless you don't have contents insurance.

I don't think my private landlord has contents insurance, he leaves it to his tenants to insure their own contents - last time I checked, that opens up a whole can of worms, but then maybe it was just me not understanding the complexities.
 
How do I thank you helpful people on this forums these days? Where did the Thanks button go? ;)
 
As for phone protection, I did think of one of those shockproof cases that surround the phone with holes for buttons and sockets, and it might afford some waterproofing as well, from rain for example.
 
The only problem with the case you mentioned is the screen is unprotected which is the most delicate part I have always used a wallet type case for my phone and In my opinion they offer greater protection.

Samsung Galaxy S3 Leather Wallet Case | eBay
 
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I called the 150 number just now to find out about my bill, as even though I signed up a couple of days ago, it turns out my first payment will not be until the 30th Jan.

Is this usual for the phone companies?
 
I don't think my private landlord has contents insurance, he leaves it to his tenants to insure their own contents - last time I checked, that opens up a whole can of worms, but then maybe it was just me not understanding the complexities.

Yes it's up to you to insure your own contents.

As a member of this forum no doubt you have AV kit- that at least should be protected. Get contents insurance!! Pronto!
 
Are you saying that at the end of the contract, the phone is essentially mine?

Also, if I lost it, would I be able to get a different model or does it have to be the same one, and would it still be on the Pay Monthly tariff?
If you got a replacement phone yourself it could be any suitable phone. The monthly tarif you pay won't change. The network won't actually care if you started using a different phone with the same sim in. The phone is yours to do what you want with straight away. It just takes the minimun contract term to have fully paid for it.
 
I called the 150 number just now to find out about my bill, as even though I signed up a couple of days ago, it turns out my first payment will not be until the 30th Jan.

Is this usual for the phone companies?

Its the norm, you pay at the end of the month so they can add on any extras ;)
 
I called the 150 number just now to find out about my bill, as even though I signed up a couple of days ago, it turns out my first payment will not be until the 30th Jan.

Is this usual for the phone companies?

Yeah it is is same with any service you pay monthly for.

They could either do a partial bill for Jan or they could leave it till the Feb one is due and take both the full month for feb and the 2 weeks for Jan in one go. Then once the first payment is made you will get billed the agreed amount each month on the same date same thing is done with mortgages.
 
Like a lot on here I don't have insurance, if you're particular clumsy or forgetful it's probably worth it, a friend of mine is on her 4th or 5th iPhone from being clumsy on nights out, but in 10 years I've not lost it broken a phone so I'm massively up on the deal.

I'd install this
Android Device Manager - Android Apps on Google Play
If you go in to the Google settings app there's a device manager menu, if you turn the settings in there on you can track your phone, call it and wipe it from any web browser.

Worst case scenario if something happens call your network and cancel the sim if you need to, you can get a moto g and unlock it from tesco for £100 to see you through to the end of the contract
 
Also worth looking in to any policies you already have, I know my mobile phone is covered by my banks current account as well as home insurance. Didn't actually realise this till popping in to my bank to enquire about travel insurance. Only downside to insuring directly with a network provider is that it can take quite a lot longer to be issued a replacement phone and/or excess may be a little higher.

Always found Orange to have the best in-house phone insurance.

Also worth just putting aside a tenner every month, worst case, you have a kitty to dip in to should you need a new phone, best case, you don't need a new phone and have a nice alcohol kitty!
 

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