Phone insurance for pay-as-you-go?

jmcwobbles

I was pick-pocketed while doing my Xmas shopping on Henry Street on Saturday (fecking soulless feckers!), and my phone was nicked. I went to the Meteor shop and got a new phone that evening, and am now thinking of getting my phone insured this time in case anything happens again - especially cos this is a good one, and pricey too (Samsung U600).

I went into the Meteor shop in Dundrum yesterday to ask about it, and the guy in the shop basically told me he wouldn't bother getting insurance on a pay-as-you-go phone, and that the insurance company rarely replace pay-as-you-go phones, which I don't understand at all - surely the value of the phone is still the same whether you're bill-pay or not?? He also said that if you do get a replacement, you have to pay an excess of €33, making it sound like that alone wouldn't make the insurance worth your while - IMO it's still better than forking out another €250!! He did suggest covering it under house insurance but I rent so don't have that option.

So just wondering, does anyone have experience insuring pay-as-you-go phones? With Meteor, or any other provider?

cdebru

http://www.getcover.com/home_tenant.asp?gclid=CLD47feQtJACFQNvEgodjXpUMA

neilled

Depends on who the policy is with to be honest. For a prepay handset (basic, under a hundred euro) expect to pay around 20 quid to cover for the year.

For a more expensive handset like the u600 it'll be around 6-10 euro per month via direct debit plus a thirty five euro excess fee. Most of these insurance policies aren't contracts, so if you lose your handset after three months, make a claim it'll only have cost you €65 or so to have a new handset worth 250 put into your hand, once you've reported it as being lost/stolen to the network within 48 hours. There are also other exclusions such as being negligent - say leaving the phone on the seat of your car or leaving it unattended at a pub table.

Phone insurance varies from provider to provider - carphone warehouse insurance is an in house job, eaglestar manage o2's insurance policy on their behalf. EDITED - just noticed you said you got the handset with meteor (homecare provide theirs) so that would mean that you would pay €35 so for a years cover plus €33 for an excess. Thats not a bad deal if you ask me for a handset like the u600. (Btw I don't work for meteor retail, i'm with a competitor)

In short what i would say if you've an expensive handset is to take out insurance and keep it whilst the price of your item is high. If it depreciates to an extent that buying a new one would be cheaper than continuing to pay and make a claim then go and cancel.

I'm dreading the next few weeks in work. Its gonna be insurance claims left right and centre :eek:

Blackdragon

jmcwobbles wrote: »

He also said that if you do get a replacement, you have to pay an excess of €33, making it sound like that alone wouldn't make the insurance worth your while

Im pretty sure that even on Billpay you still have to pay this Excess charge.
I wonder why he was so hellbent on talking you out of it

jmcwobbles

Thanks for the responses guys!

cdebru I'd never looked into rental insurance, I didn't realise how reasonable it is!

neilled thanks for all the info, I did know about the various restrictions etc. but have you ever come across legitimate cases where the insurance companies didn't replace the phone? That's what the guy in the shop was saying, that the companies don't seem to replace pay-as-you-go phones, but I don't see why...

I do agree that it seems logical to get the phone insured while it is costed at €250 - the phone wouldn't depreciate much in value over one year would it?

I don't know why that guy was so set against it - maybe I just got him in a bad mood or something...

ollyk1

cdebru wrote: »

http://www.getcover.com/home_tenant.asp?gclid=CLD47feQtJACFQNvEgodjXpUMA

The details on this insurance in respect of items of specific value is interesting to say the least. It effectively means you need to have at least €40k of insurance to get around the 5% clause if you have anything like a decent laptop etc. Buyer beware.

neilled

jmcwobbles wrote: »

Thanks for the responses guys!

cdebru I'd never looked into rental insurance, I didn't realise how reasonable it is!

neilled thanks for all the info, I did know about the various restrictions etc. but have you ever come across legitimate cases where the insurance companies didn't replace the phone? That's what the guy in the shop was saying, that the companies don't seem to replace pay-as-you-go phones, but I don't see why...

I do agree that it seems logical to get the phone insured while it is costed at €250 - the phone wouldn't depreciate much in value over one year would it?

I don't know why that guy was so set against it - maybe I just got him in a bad mood or something...

Generally speaking I haven't. The reason i've seen most claims rejected is not having reported to the network and gardai within the appropriate timeframe to be sure you need to do this within 24 hours of the handset going missing. I've never dealt with meteor insurance personally but their terms and conditions seem to be fairly standard. As i've said before they have an undue negligence thing like leaving the handset unattended in a bar etc but that's it really. I've not heard bad things about meteor insurance in the past.

O2's eagle star is quite interesting as they seem to source the handsets outside the o2 range. It means sometime if they deem a handset unavailable or their source can't get one, they throw you out a model that a tier up - eg last summer lost 6230i's were replaced with 6280's that were never released on o2! Of course the handset you get is unbranded which is the way I like a handset - no network crippling of a phone.

Carphone warehouse on the other hand do the insurance through a company they own themselves so everything is done in store in the event of theft. Bring the stamped forms in and the info is processed and you can walk out with a handset the same day you lose it. The downside is your unlikely to ever get the o2 situation mentioned above.

Vodafones own is handled by royal sun alliance and works in a similar matter to o2's, go into the store in the event of loss or damage, pick up a claim pack, send it off and you'll have a new handset within a few days. Replacement handsets are vodafone standard models afaik.

Three on the other hand don't have an insurance package per say, but will in the event of loss or damage hand you a new phone if you agree to extend your contract by another 12 months. Not the best deal if your coming towards the end of your contract, if you were halfway through it it might be worthwhile if it was an expensive model. Prepay are on their own.

hope that helps you.

*Page*

Does your contence insurance cover your mobile phone?

Mine does even if its not in the house when its stolen.

My friend had vodafone insure and when the phone was grabbed from her hand the company told her if it wasnt locked away somewhere safe when it was stolen then its not covered... So i'd never waste money on that sort of thing...

Mimikyu

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neilled

Solitaryman666 wrote: »

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I was one of the early adopters - got one the first day they were in cpw in grafton street. Paid 350 for it. Stuff depreciates at a terrible rate. Hence my earlier comments. Normally your phone isn't out of date by the time you leave the phone shop, but this being Ireland, we are special. As a general rule allow 2 1/2 to 3 months between a handset release in the rest of the world and Ireland. We seem to be the dumping ground for all the handsets that no one else will buy. :mad:

Pythia

Phone insurance is very expensive. I would only get it if you are pretty sure you're going to claim on it. For example, I know people who lose a few phones a year. But it's not worth it if you're extremely careful.
You also have to make sure you follow the procedures to the letter.

I only know about CPW insurane as that's what I dealt with.